CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
(Monographs) 


ICIVIH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canndian  Institute  for  Hiitorical  Microreproductiona  /  InMtitut  Canadian  da  microraproductiont  hiatoriques 


•  T« 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  (or  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


0 

n 
□ 

D 
D 

n 
n 

D 

n 
n 

n 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restautee  et/ou  pellicula 

Cover  title  missing  /  Le  litre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Canes  geographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustratkins  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  editk>n  available  / 
Seule  edition  disponible 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serrie  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distarsk>n  le  long  de 
la  marge  interieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoratkins  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have 
been  omitted  from  filming  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines 
pages  blanches  ajout^s  lors  d'une  restauration 
appataissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  kxsque  cela  6tait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  §te  fSmtes. 


L'Institut  a  mierofilme  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6te  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sont  peut-§tre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modifications  dans  la  m6th- 
ode  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 

I     I      Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

I     I      Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommagees 

I     I      Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restauries  et/ou  pellteulees 

r~j      Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
•-^      Pages  deccior  'es,  tachetdes  ou  piquees 

I     I      Pages  detached/ Pages  dStachees 

r^      Showthrough/ Transparence 

I     I      Quality  of  print  varies  / 

' — I      Quality  inigale  de  I'impresslon 

I     I      Includes  supplementary  material ' 

Comprend  du  materiel  suppleriientaire 

I  I  Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
— '  slips  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  returned  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  Image  /  Les  pages 
totalement  ou  pariiellement  obscurcies  par  un 
feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure,  etc.,  ont  et*  filmtes 
a  nouveau  de  fa;on  a  obtenir  la  mellleure 
image  possible. 

I  I  Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
— I  discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variatiles  ou  des  decol- 
orations sont  filmtes  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


D 


Addition^  comments  / 
Commentaires  supptementaJres: 


Thiti 
Ctdo 

lOX 

mn  it 
cumaf 

fihiM 
itnt 

datt 
filmt 

hirni 
au  tat 

14X 

uction  ratio  ctiaekad  btlow/ 
tx  de  raduetion  indiqiii  ei-dassous 
1«X 

nx 

ax 

KX 

J 

~~ 

12X 

MX 

20X 

2«X 

2BX 

32  X 

Th»  copy  fllmad  hara  haa  baan  raproducad  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

O.B.  Waldon  Library 
University  o*  Wenarn  Ontario 


L'axamplaira  fllm4  fut  raprodult  grtea  k  la 
a*n4roait*  da: 

C.B.  WaMon  Library 
Univartity  of  Wastarn  Ontario 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
poaaibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  laglblllty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  In  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apaclflcatlona. 


Original  coplaa  In  printad  papar  eovar*  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  Impraa- 
slon,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  approprlata.  All 
othar  original  coplaa  ara  fllmad  baglnning  on  tha 
firat  paga  with  a  printad  or  Illuatratad  Impraa- 
•lon,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  Illuatratad  Impraaaion. 


Tha  laat  racoroad  frama  on  aach  microfleha 
ahall  conuin  tha  aymbol  — *'(maanlng  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  aymbol  V  Imaaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appllaa. 

Mapa,  plataa,  charta,  ate,  may  ba  fllmad  at 
diffarant  raductlon  ratloa.  Thoaa  too  larga  to  ba 
antlraly  Includad  In  oni  axpoaura  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  In  tha  uppar  laft  hand  eornar,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framaa  aa 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrama  llluatrata  tha 
mathod: 


Laa  Imagaa  su  vantaa  ont  M  raprodultaa  avac  la 
plua  grand  aoln,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattati  da  l'axamplaira  flimt,  at  an 
conformit*  avac  laa  conditlona  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  axamplalraa  orlglnaux  dont  la  eouvartura  an 
paplar  aat  Imprim4a  aont  flimte  an  commandant 
par  la  pramlar  plat  at  an  tarmlnant  aoit  par  la 
darnitra  paga  qui  comporta  una  ampralnta 
d'ir.ipraaaion  ou  d'llluatratlon,  aoit  par  la  aacond 
plat,  aalon  la  caa.  Toua  laa  autraa  axamplalraa 
orlglnaux  aont  filmte  an  commandant  par  la 
praml*ra  paga  qui  comporta  una  ampralnta 
d'impraaaion  ou  d'llluatratlon  at  an  tarmlnant  par 
la  darnlira  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
ampralnta. 

Un  daa  aymboiaa  auivanta  apparaltra  aur  la 
darnitra  Imaga  da  chaqua  microfleha,  aaion  la 
caa:  la  aymbola  —»■  algnlfia  "A  SUIVRE",  la 
aymbola  V  algnlfia  "FIN". 

Laa  cartaa.  pianchaa,  tablaaux,  ate.  pauvant  ttra 
flimta  *  dua  taux  da  rMuction  difftranta. 
Loraqua  la  doeumant  aat  trop  grand  pour  ttra 
raprodult  an  un  aaul  elich«,  il  aat  fllm«  i  partir 
da  i'angia  aup4riaur  gaueha.  da  gaucha  i  drolta. 
at  da  haut  an  baa,  an  pranant  la  nombrp 
d'imagaa  nfcaaaaira.  Laa  diagrammaa  auivanta 
illuatrant  la  mithoda. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MClOCOfY    RESOIUTION    TBI   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


A  /APPLIED  IM/IGE    Inc 

^^  1653   East   Main   Strest 

:y,S  Rochester.   New  York         14609       USA 

'■Jg  (716)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^S  (^^6)   283  -  5989  -  Fax 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


s 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


STUDIES  OF  THE  PLACE  OF  JESUS  IN  THE  M'NDS 
CF  POETS  AND  PROPHETS 


RICHARD  ROBERTS 


**'nai  out  Faiff/ar/rom  vjn/.A,  r^Arr  grewt, 
Or  Jeiompettt  hut  to  rtium/ioie^ 
Btcomtt  my  univerte  thatfeih  and  knows." 

— RoiiKT  BaowNiNn 


ASSOCIATION    PRESS 

Nbw    York:    347    Ma.ison    Avbnui 
1919 


CopTOIOirr.  1919,  BY 
ThI  iNTERNATlONAt.  COHHimE  OF 

YouNC  Men's  Ciiristian  Associations 


lZS99r 


The  Bible  Text  used  in  this  volume  is  taken  from  the  Revised  Version  of  1881 


I 


CONTENTS 


cuptn 

Foreword 

I.  Vision  and  Revelation 

II.  A  General  Survey 

III.  The  Poet  of  the  Awakening— Dante 

IV.  The  J'oet  as  Reformer— Shelley.  . . . 

V.  The  Poi-t  as  Rebel— William  Blake. 
VI.  The  Pcr;T  as  Philosopher 

VII.  The  Poet  as  Seeker— Tennyson 
VIII.   The  Poet  as  Mystic— Francis  Thompson  .... 

IX.  The  Prophet  of  Righteousness- Savonarola 
X.  The  Prophet  of  Humanity— Mazzini 

XI.  The  Prophet  of  Service— John  Ruskin i6^ 

XII.  The  Universal  Jesus ,g, 


PAOB 

vii 

I 

19 

37 

54 

7« 
Browning ga 

107 

"3 
141 

•54 


1 


FOREWORD 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this  is  not  in  any  sense 
a  volume  of  literary  estimates.  It  is  simply  an  attempt  to 
show  "the  face  of  Jesus  Christ"  as  certain  great  souls  have 
seen  it;  and  nothing  is  added  to  this  save  what  seemed 
necessary  in  order  to  provide  thi.:  proper  perspective. 

The  selection  of  those  whose  view  of  Jesus  is  treated 
in  this  book  has  been  determined  entirely  by  the  fact  that 
the  present  writer  happens  to  have  learned  more  from 
them  than  from  any  others.  Obviously  other  lists  of  the 
same  kind  might  be  made  by  other  men ;  but  one  may  take 
leave  to  question  whether  the  total  result  would  be  ap- 
preciably different. 

Some  of  the  contents  of  the  following  pages  appeared 
in  the  author's  book,  "The  Meaning  of  Christ,"  which  was 
published  in  1906,  but  has  been  for  many  years  out  of 
print.  A  few  paragraphs  of  the  twelfth  week's  material 
have  been  taken  *'-om  tlie  author's  "The  Renascence  of 
Faith."  All  this  matter  has,  however,  been  entirely  re- 
written. 


a 

t! 


CHAPTER  I 


Vision  and  Revelation 


The  aim  of  this  book  is  to  help  men  and  women  to  reach 
a  true  judgment  about  Jesus.  It  does  not  pretend  to 
provide  all  the  conditions  and  materials  of  such  a  judg- 
ment. It  will  endeavor  to  set  in  order  a  certain  class  of 
material,  in  the  hope  that  the  reader  may  be  stimulated  to 
pursue  the  study  further,  and  especially  to  consider  afresh 
the  portrait  of  Jesus  in  the  gospels.  To  the  gospel  pres- 
entation of  Jesus  we  shall  naturally  refer  again  and  again 
in  the  course  of  the  present  study ;  but  this  will  not  do 
away  with  the  need  of  a  consecutive  study  of  the  gospels 
themselves.  Indeed,  this  study  will  itself  have  proved  a 
failure  if  it  does  not  send  those  who  may  engage  in  it 
back  to  the  gospels  to  seek  out  the  face  of  Jesus  for 
themselves. 

It  will  be  observed  that  what  is  proposed  here  is  an 
endeavor  to  show  how  Jesus  impressed  certain  persons. 
These  persons  are  of  two  classes,  poets  and  prophets.  Of 
the  company  only  one  has  an  ecclesiastical  connection  of 
a  formal  kind,  namely,  Savonarola.  The  rest  are  all 
laymen ;  and  consequently  we  may  expect  to  find  them 
largely  free  from  professional  and  theological  bias.  The 
theological  and  clerical  mind  is  perhaps  open  to  the 
suspicion  of  partisan  motives,  of  wanting  to  establish  a 
case.  The  persons  whom  we  propose  to  study  will  not 
suffer  from  this  disadvantage.  Indeed,  some  among  them 
would  have  repudiated  the  suggestion  that  they  ranked 
as  orthodox  Chri.stians;  one,  Shelley,  even  called  himself 
an  atheist.  It  will  at  least  be  interesting  to  find  out  what 
I 


II-.J 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


hese  men  thought  about  Jesus  Wh., 
that  .mpressed  them?  How  did  Yh  """'  ''  '"  «'>" 
Plainly  this  study  should  yield  usl'^  react  to  Him? 
for  a  complete  portrait  of  Jesus  ""P°"""'  ""^'"ial 

^P-rnlaS:,":^---.^^^ 
There  are  in  the  creeds  J,xln,  '  ^^^  Testament 
n.t.ons  of  the  Person  of  Chris°tr"\^''""''^"'  ^-^fi- 
recogn.ze  that  formal  star.?,  ;  \  ""=  ^^"^  hegun  to 
■mitations.  Usually  hey  ha"",  °'  T'"  ''^ve  Vave 
fires   of   controversy-    anH  ""''    f^shinned    in    the 

-fleet  the  Was  of  Var  '  n  "m^ '"^^  — -ch 
nowadays  that  intellectual  nrnnnV  "  ^'^  ^'^°  ''"ow 
'he  whole  meaning  of  I'fe.    ^  °P°^""'"«  «nnot  compass 

"l^r^'V^'^y  ^'"^  love 
What  s  best  worth  saying  can't  be  said  •' 

s^rr:syou:-;^-r-----^ 

^^e-^Xlr-t^^r-J^r^hSet- 
tematically  drawn  out.  We  are  m„  t  '"^'^'^  «"d  ^y^" 
what  we  want  in  th-  snlf  ''''  '"°'"e  h'kely  to  find 

"t'erances  of  per"ons^X  ^1^,  '".'  °''^"  "i"-d S 
were  not  in  the  least  conce  n^d  L  "^  '  "'  "^^^  '^^  =•"<! 
a  particular  view  or  tradition  '''''°''"''  °^  '°  defend 

DAILY  HEADINGS 
First  Week,  First  Day 

ta  a  n,  J«  ""'"«  *°  nought"  but  w!    "''^*  °f  *his  world 


in  Him 
o  Him? 
material 

he  most 
itament. 
nt  defi- 
-gun  to 

grave    \ 
in    the 
^niiiich     i 

know     I 
>nipass     1 


his  is 
I  true 
s  not 

sys- 
>  find 
irded 

and 
fend 


It  a 
rid, 
lom 
len, 
lur 
th: 


VISION  AND  REVELATION  [i.,] 

Il!!r''i.^5"''  «ye  "w  not.  and  ear  heard  not. 
And  which  entered  not  into  the  heart  of  man 
;       WThaUoever  things  God  prepared  for  th?m  'that  love 

I  5,"*^.*°  "s  G°d  revealed  them  through  the  Soirif  for 

*  God   "porX"''*''  ""  **■',"«"•  "«"•  *'•  deep  tilngs  oJ 

God.    For  who  among  men  Imoweth  the  thines  of  a  man 

.;  save  the  spint  of  the  man,  which  is   in  him?   eveS^  so 

1  But  w"*"  °^°°/  "°"'  i?-"^"*,  save  the  Sp?r  t  of  God 

But  we  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world    but  the 

\  thit  ,7^"'',"  °^  °°'':  *•""*  *«  "iffht  know  the  things 

we  speak  "o^^r;orH°."^^'l°°'*•  W^'^''  tWngs  a"ro 
we  speaK.  not  in  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth 

but  which  the  Spirit  teacheth;  comparing  sp°rTtuafthin« 
with  spiritual.  Now  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the 
thmgs  of  the  Spirit  of  God:  for  they  are  fQonS;n«S 
unto  him;  and  he  cannot  know  thern. 'Lecausi  ?hey  are 
spiritually  judged.  But  he  that  is  spiritual  ?ud«th  all 
things,  and  he  himself  is  judged  o"  no  man      For  who 

hfmp'^Rir  *''\'"'"<»  °f  *i  Lfrd.  that  he"Sould  °nstruc? 
him?    But  we  have  the  mind  of  Christ.— I  Cor.  ":  6-16. 

Our  first  business  is  to  try  to  understand  the  peculiar 
quality  of  the  mind  of  the  poet  and  the  prophet 

William  Blake  once  said  that  he  saw  not  with  his  eyes 
but  through  ih^m-  by  which  he  meant  that  he  saw  with 
ms   mind.     To   him,   secins  consisted   not   in   perceiving 
alone    but  in  the  way  his  mind  reacted  to  the  thine  per- 
ceived.   The  vision  included  not  only  the  object,  but  what 
his  mind  was  provoked  to  add  to  or  to  read  into  the  object 
^o  he  went  on  to  say  that  when  he  looked  at  the  sun- 
rise, It  was  not  a  round  disc  of  fire  that  he  saw,  but  "a 
great  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  cn-ing  'Holy   Holv 
Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty.-  "    So  Francis  Thompson  Took 
mg  at  the  sunset  found  in  it  a  suggestion  of  his  crucified 
Lord:    Thou  art,"  he  sang, 

"Thou  art  of  Him  a  type  memorial; 
Like  Him  thou  hang'st  in  dreadful  pomp  of  blood 
Upon  thy  western  rood." 

But  it  is  given  to  few  of  us  to  see  things  after  this 
3 


[I-2J 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


of  vision.  For  neither  did  Wil  am  riS.  .^'"''''  «''' 
Francis  Thompson  at  sunset  read  Tnttf,  "TT  ""' 
'ts  essential  secret.  They  saw  tL" /^  ?"  °^  ">*=  ^"" 
the  one  saw  the  Creator  ^he  other  the°P  T'  """=- 
the  ..nage  under  which  ei  her  «^L  «•        'Redeemer;  but 

of  his  own  imagi'atio".  "nX^-L"'^  ''^  ""''"" 
through  the  sun;  what  he  ri;H  "    were— saw 

the  face  of  the  un  a  pttJe  T  '?■  ?,"'"'  "  P'<^'"^«=  "" 
but  still  a  picture.  The'^reatLt^fft  n  ^•'•"'^  "°  '^°"'''' 
agination  but  insight,  not  the  Xhat'ldH"  ''  "?'  '"- 
however  true,  to  the  fact  h.f  ,?■  u  •  ^^^^  ^  picture, 
fact  and  discovers  the  mean!  h^H  "•''•"  '''^""S''  the 
same  William  Blake  wTote  "^  nn  V"  "'  '^"«-  This 
Revolutionary  War  but  for  hi^  T. ''^"'  '^^  ^""i"" 
the  thirteen  colonies  but  th.  •  ^-  "^"-^""^  *«  "ot 
tween  heaven  andllf.^^Ae^a^Tt  Ir;'"''"*"'^"''  ""=- 
men  or  of  political  interests   hi^  ^l  ^  '=°"'"'='  "^ 

spiritual  powers.  His  flncv  ;at  A.t  '''"^'^  °*  "t^n'<= 
and  bewildering  canvas  but  befnr'v  ^"  °"  ^  ""^'^^d 
got  to  work,  hi!  insiX  had'  r  ■  ^  t  ™*e^'"^"°n  had 
of  eternal  I^rinci^ef  Thefts  1  "  '°  '"^  °"^ 

of  the  long  and  checkerpH  Zl  /.'*'*  '*■  ^^^  part 

in  which  heaven   and  hel    w  °^  ''""'""  HberaHon, 

this  world  of  li^inglen'^'Andthi''  Ir"'^  '="^^^^''  ^ 
vision,  that  break!  rougt1heerLL*^?vf'"^"'°' 
event  to  its  core  of  spiritu^  reair  v  tI  "'^  °"'^"'" 
't  if  he  is  to  be  more  th^n  T    •'^'    ^^^  P°''  ""='  have 


First 


Week,  Second 
Howbei 


Day 


^^'Ai-AXI'K^^ 


*.-«Krffij-4r4i.Vffi£ 


VISION  AND  REVELATION 


II-J] 


ination 

;st  gift 
ise  nor 
lie  sun 
here — 
r;   but 
eation 
— saw 
ire  on 
doubt, 
)t  im- 
cture, 
h  the 

This 
rican 
5  not 
i  be- 
et of 
tanic 
vded 

had 

one 
part 
tion, 
I  as 
t  of 
fard 
ave 
iirst 
city 

lUSt 


bimielf;  but  what  thingi  loever  he  shall  hear,  these 
I  shall  he  speak:  and  he  shall  declare  unto  you  the  thines 

that  are  to  come.  He  shall  glorify  me:  for  he  shall  take 
j  of  mine,  and  shall  declare  it  unto  you.— John  i6: 13,  14. 

i  What  the  true  seer  sees  does  not,  however,  depend 
solely  upon  his  insight.  Wordsworth  in  one  of  his  poems 
asks, 

"Think  you  amid  this  mighty  sum 
Of  things  forever  speaking, 
3  That  nothing  of  itself  will  come 

And  we  must  still  be  seeking?" 

Indeed,  it  is  one  of  our  commonest  experiences  that  things 
do  come  to  us.  But  in  our  day  there  has  been  considerable 
skepticism  as  to  the  value  of  anything  that  comes  to  us 
except  along  the  accredited  highw-/  of  the  "scientific 
method."  The  only  safe  knowledge,  we  have  been  told, 
is  that  which  we  gain  first  through  the  senses  and  then 
through  the  exercise  of  reason  upon  the  data  gathered  by 
our  senses,  the  knowledge  toward  which  we  struggle  by 
the  exercise  of  our  natural  faculties.  But  from  this  view 
we  are  nowadays  being  gradually  emancipated.  While 
we  accept  the  validity  of  the  scientific  method  in  its  own 
field,  we  do  not  now  believe  that  it  is  efficient  over  the 
whole  field  of  possible  knowledge. 

"Reason,"  says  G.  J.  Romanes,  the  English  biologist, 
"is  not  the  only  attribute  of  man,  nor  is  it  the  only  faculty 
which  he  habitually  uses  in  the  ascertainment  of  truth. 
Moral  and  spiritual  faculties  are  of  no  less  importance 
in  their  respective  spheres  even  of  everyday  life.  Faith, 
trust,  taste,  etc.,  are  as  needful  in  ascertaining  truth  as  to 
character,  beauty,  etc.,  as  is  reason.  Indeed,  v.e  may  take 
it  that  reason  is  concerned  in  ascertaining  truth  only  where 
causation  is  concerned;  the  appropriate  organs  for  its 
ascertainment  where  anything  else  is  concerned  belong  to 
the  moral  and  spiritual  region."' 

*  "Thoughts  on  Religion,"  p.  lu. 


fI-3J 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


-^^^'^LZ^-,^^^  and   M.ho... 
have   made   more   or  greater-l«r  '"T""^  ^"=*  ""=" 
flashes.    True,  he  had  been    XT. k     '"?•  '"   '""den 
d>d  not  arrive  at  them  by  process"^  'h"e  things,  but  he 
They  arrhcd.  as  it  were    and  nf.»   ""^?^'°"s  reasoning, 
■'"d  places,  when  his  m^d  was  eS,"  '!?  '"■'='^^''"*  ««« 
"s-all   of   which   goes   to   sho w^!Pf  *'"'  "'her  mat- 
faculties  that  are  essential  v  r°^.*hat   while   we   have 
-elc  the  truth,  we  hav'lers'The  ■'%'''"*  ^°  »"'  ""d 
receptive,  they  are  there  T  r?   •      ""'"''  "^  *hich  is 

ceded  by  spells  of  inteLr  il  .  ,  ^^^^^  ^ad  been  pre- 

subject.    He  had  goie  out  aTr    "=°"""'"'>on  on'^^he 

the  truth,  and  thf„  the  trutV  hrd"''  '""'"'^'^  '°  «-'«' 

From  this  we  may  infer  that  „n  '?"'^  *°  ""t  him 

who  does  not  put'^afl  the  mind  h"'!!  ^'"  ""^erstand  Je  us 

■"deed,  will  not  of  itselfT         ^^''  '°  'he  task.    That 

J""s;  but  without  it  th  re    "an  I    ""  ""^"^'anding  of 

a".    Yet  if  a  man  w  11  do  th.".  ?v     "°  "nderstandi„|  at 

and  the  process  by  ^^  S^l^^^^^^ 

First  Week.  Third  Day 

«.y.  and  the  £ord  hath  no?  done  h?  H     7"  l-'fa"  « 

uone  It?     Surely  the  Lord 
0 


VISION  AND  REy ELATION 


11-31 


I  Ood  wil!  do  nothing,  but  he  revealeth  hit  secret  unto  hit 
■ervanti  the  prophett.  The  lion  hath  roared,  whc  will 
not   tear?   the   Lord   Ood  hath   ipoken,   who   cau   but 

jpropheiy? — ^Amot  3:  i-8. 

The  conditions  of  an  adequate  personal  judgment  upon 
I  Jesus — and  indeed  upon  any  subject  that  really  matters 
—are  first,  insight  backed  by  a  '.-oncentrated  effort  of  un- 
derstanding; and  second,  revelation,  a  something  com- 
municated. The  measure  and  vividness  of  a  revelation 
depend  upon  the  power  and  quality  of  one's  insight;  and 
that  in  its  turn  depends  upon  two  things:  first,  natural 
endowment,  and  second,  cultivation.  The  prophet  is  made 
by  a  unique  original  gift  of  insight,  strengthened  and 
sensitized  by  much  thought  and  meditation,  which  make 
him  capable  of  receiving  great  revelations.  Prophets  vary 
in  size,  of  course.  There  are  major  prophets  and  minor, 
as  there  are  major  and  minor  poets.'  But  the  difference 
between  them  is  essentially  one  of  scale  and  degree,  not 
at  all  of  kind.  Moreover,  it  would  be  difficult  to  draw  a 
psychological  line  which  separates  the  prophet  from  the 
poet.  The  prophet  is  frequently  a  poet;  and  the  poet  is 
often  a  prophet.  Both  have  the  same  quality  of  vision. 
The  difference  between  them  lies  in  another  quarter,  to 
which  we  shall  attend  presently. 

Meantime,  let  us  consider  the  nature  of  this  insight 
more  particularly.  What  we  sometimes  call  "common 
sense"  is  a  kind  of  insight.  It  consists  of  a  sane  percep- 
tion of  the  relation  of  facts  to  each  other,  a  just  apprecia- 
tion of  their  comparative  importance,  and  a  sound  judg- 
ment upon  the  conduct  proper  to  the  situation.  It  is  a 
useful  and  generous  gift;  and  though  wc  call  it  common, 
it  is  none  too  prodigally  distributed.  Few  of  us  have  as 
much  as  it  would  be  good  for  us  to  have.    Yet  common 

'  In  the  Old  Testament,  the  distinction  between  the  major  and  minor 
prophets  refers  to  tlie  length  of  the  books  attributed  to  them.  We 
are  using  the  words  here  rather  with  reference  to  the  quality  of  their 
message.  The  prophet  who  prophesies  most  is  not  neceisarily  the 
(reatcit  prophet    Ezeldel  ii  not  a  greater  prophet  than  Amoa. 


11-31 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


sense  operates  only  on  the  outside  of  thin™        a   ■ 

peculiar  danger  is  to  assume  tha     he  thines  Tu  '      ,'I 

of  dealing  with  cover  the  whole  reaH.y  ofi  1     8^, 

greater  part  of  life  is,  after  all,  out  of  sieht'-  fnH 

hav    "t'oo"  '  r"'  J^^Pnent'concer^ni^X-  urn'  : 

Mo7es   "o      :rhe'inva""=Tie  f^^^^°^^ 

the  prophet's  and  thrpoet's  inljhtt  tC^t  T^  " 

P'erce  this  unknown  and  uncharfed  tVXt         ."''''  " 

terpret  life  and  man  and  cZiX  S  oiVt  •"  t' 

pit  of  spiritual  discernment  and  interpfe  at/on   th     "  """ 

to  apprehend  the  spiritual  reality  which  I  «T^L    ^^  1°*" 

and  events,  and  to  some  e"t^?tate  the  .v"*"  ""'"^^ 

■n  a  language  which  others  l^unde.stfnd      rf  '"" 

extent,  notice;  for  all  the  spiritual  reahtywhirr         '"' 

tnay  perceive  cannot  be  exoresse^  in  t„  ^  T    ■    .,*  "'^" 

through  language  and  eLpl'-'l'^.Ta^ul  '3''    w  "'^ 

tion  of  the  prophet  and  tL  noet'  fl^l  lu  "  ""=J'^""<^- 
this  way.  Peter  R.Ml  took  ?fh,  •"'  ""^  '«"^  ""ings  in 
brim"  alits  face  va  ue  ^ut  th  ^"T"'^  ^^  **"=  "^"'= 
"every  c.  .monVsh^rflame  !  h'ff '  S  tt  ^"  ^ 
lies  not  in  thinps  wen  ,„^  .  .    .     ""^  *"*■"  ■'eahty 

which  are  unteTandeUaV'''"'"'"''  ""'  '"  *"=  ^''^e' 

simpt  'VX^t  str  the"'  T  '"'  ^""^  P^P-^"  '» 
clothes  the  thins:  he  se«'il»  ^'°f  "/!''''"•  ^^"^  P°^' 
it  at  that;  bZhe  prophet  iwl"'''  °^  ''""'^  ^"'l  '"^" 
hearing  for  his  iag^'^He  L,  aTut.^Y""^  '°  ^""  ^ 
to  men;  but  he  is  not   a    21  ''^^*.*™''  'o  communicate 

form  in'  which  the  truth  i  utS-\r""''  "'"^  ''' 
heard,  anyhow  and  at  any  cos       Bv  .1    T-  "  *°  ^''  " 

8 


yiSION  AND  REVELATION 


[U\ 


all  art.  All  noble  art  communicates  a  truth;  but  it  does 
so  without  meaning  or  professini;  to  do  so.  But  the 
prophet's  business  is  the  preaching.  This,  however,  does 
not  prevent  him  from  being  a  poet;  again  and  again 
prophecy  has  seemed  to  cast  itself  into  poetic  form.  We 
see  this  in  the  Old  Testament;  and  a  notable  instance  of 
il  is  Lamennais'  "Paroles  d^un  Croyant,"  where  the  burn- 
ing message  of  the  prophet  expresses  itself  in  long  rolling 
cadences  like  an  ocean  swell.  The  poet  and  the  prophet 
are  near  neighbors. 

First  Week,  Fourth  Day 

Now  when  Jetui  came  into  the  part*  o£  Caetarea 
Philippi,  he  asked  hii  diiciplet,  saying,  Who  do  met  uy 
that  the  Son  of  man  is?  And  they  said,  Some  lay  John 
the  Baptist;  some,  Elijah:  and  others,  Jeremiah,  or  one 
ot  the  prophets.  He  laith  unto  them,  But  who  say  ye 
that  I  am?  And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said.  Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  cf  the  living  Ood.  And  Jesus 
anitwered  and  «aid  unto  him,  Bletied  art  thou,  Simon 
Bar-Jonah:  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.— Matt.  i6: 13-17- 

This  passage  illustrates  the  difference  between  common 
sense  and  spiritual  insight.  When  the  ordinary  man  saiJ 
Jesus  was  Elijah  or  Jeremiah  or  one  of  the  prophets,  ha 
was  expressing  a  judgment  reached  by  common  sense. 
So  far  as  it  went,  it  was  true  enough;  and  more,  it  was 
—in  contrast  with  the  prevailing  official  judgments — a 
favorable  judgment.  These  people  put  Jesus  in  the  high- 
est class  they  knew,  but  it  was  a  judgment  arrived  at  by 
the  exercise  of  natural  faculty.  They  said  that  Jesus 
bore  some  family  resemblance  to  the  great  figures  of  the 
prophetic  tradition ;  but  they  failed  to  perceive  the  peculiar 
distinction  of  Jesus.  It  was  left  to  Peter  to  see  and  to 
state  what  that  was.  "Thou  art  the  Christ  of  God."  But 
observe  that  Jesus  explains  Peter's  perception  of  His 
significance  by  saying  that  he  had  received  it  from  God. 
"Flesh   and  blood"— that   is,   natural   faculty— "hath  not 


(1-4J 


THAT  ONE  FACIi 


I  ! 


■"Sight  completed  ly  tZllV'^  ''"'"''  "^  »P'"t".i 

inte,;eSo~ll^.rC'"^'^«''''°-"«i 

"  the,,  found  or  rece  vedT  LrthT^' "'""'^hing 
»=P'r.<  ^' in'"pre,ation  of  the  sforv  MM  r^^''  ^"^J^'  '^ 
I  end  ors  to  sec  the  figure  o\  ^  "" '^"°P''"- 
f»stor.cal  setting;  that  is  to  savi*  "^i  "'  "P''"  f'-°'n  its 
■"/elation  tr  fhe  ..ns  en°S  o7  e?'"'!'"  P'"^"^  H'^ 
■ts  judgment   is   recorded   T  ,h.    p    ,"""'  '"«'»''■'>;  and 

anne^re^nir:^/:  ■•^^'.t'/s^is:  S 

Jo-th  Cospe;-^:f-P--n  of  G„,.     ^^°^-.   the 

..s  dehberately  placed  in  TsetHni  '"  P?"^''^^  form, 
t'nieless  and  careless  of  p  ecise  t  ?  "''."''  '"  ^""""sly 
bac'jground  is  eternity      '  '"stor.cal  accuracy.     I,, 

was  duetThet5L.S'-S  ^'"''''^  -"'-'e  of  Jesus 
term  Ugos  may  U.    'n         'r'*r°""d  of  the  writer     Th, 

of  God.  the  perfect  self-exprei'  on  „,  r'  ^'"'""^  ""ought 
"^  outgoing  toward  man      I,    "  *^°'''  ^'  "  "'ere   in 

Alexandria  under  Phil"  ,h^  Jew  whn^'''"^u  "'^^^'oped  in 
conception  of  the  Logos  by  conrerH  """.^"^  ">«  Greek 
doctnne  of  the  Jewf,  wWch  b"o> ''  "'"'  "'e  Wisdom 
^0^0^  Idea.  But  the  Hebrew  Vv'^.  '"""Po-'ds  to  the 
spoken  of  as  a  person,  which  at  ^r'?°"'  ^"^  f^-^l^entlv 
!"ore  than  the  common  t^Senv  to  ""''  ^'''  ''«=^"  "o 
deas,  but  which  becimp  1  ^  '°  Personify  abstract 
is  clear  that,  by  som?  ^^  Pronounced  in  Phiio      T* 

Phiio  had  influe;ceTer"chHr°"'T  ^"^"eS  ng  o 
■n  the  first  chapter  of  isS^^r  '''°"^'^'-  St.  ^u 
Hehr;   ''   i""   ""^   opening   wo  d,   ;rtr"^°"''''=''  '^^-^ 

Hebrews.    But  this  drift  ^f  Thought  re    fveS^"'^  '°  '"^ 
jjj     s      receives  its  crowning 


VISION  AND  REVELATION 


n-si 


expression  in  the  P.ologuc  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  where 
the  proposition  is  plainly  set  down  that  "The  Word  be- 
came flesh  and  dwelt  among  us";  and  the  view  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  is  that  the  Word  became  flesh  in  the 
Person  of  Jesus. 

From  this  we  may  infer  that  what  men  see  in  Jesus  is 
influenced  by  their  own  mental  background.  It  is  this 
that,  partly  at  least,  explains  the  wonderful  diversity  in 
men's  judgments  upon  Him:  and  that  men  sec  Him  so 
variously  and  so  difTerently  shows  how  unique  a  per- 
sonality He  was. 

[First  Week,  Fifth  Day 

.     Havins  therefore  luch  a  hope,  we  use  great  boldnesi 

I  of  speecn,  and  a.e  not  ai  Moiei,  who  put  a  veil  upon  his 

I  face,  that  the  children  of  Israel  should  not  look  ttedfattly 

Ion  the  end  of  that  which  was  passing  away:  but  their 

I  minds  were  hardened:  for  until  this  very  day  at  the  read- 

I  ing  of  the  oi4  -ovenant  the  same  veil  remaineth  unlifted; 

I  which  veil        lone  away  in  Christ.     But  unto  this  day, 

I  whensoeve:    ^'  oses  is  read,  a  veil  lieth  upon  their  heart. 

I  But  whensoe\   -  it  shall  turn  to  the  Lord,  the  veil  is  taken 

away.    Now  «.    Lord  is  the  Spirit:  and  where  the  Spirit 

of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.     But  we  all,  with  un- 

veiled  face  reflecting  as  a  mirror"  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 

I  are    transformed    into    the    same   imrge    from    glory   to 

glory,  even  as  from  the  Lord  the  Spirit.— II  Cor.  3:  ia-i8. 

The  peculiar  value  of  the  prophet's  and  the  poet's  vision 
of  Jesus  lies  in  its  spontaneity.  Each  from  his  own 
angle  and  with  his  special  gift  of  insight  looks  upon  Him 
and  tells  us  what  he  sees.  Very  often  he  does  not  do  so 
intentionally;  he  does  not  set  out  to  tell  us  what  he  sees. 
The  judgment  is  implied  rather  than  deliberately  stated; 
and  the  richest  clues  are  frequently  those  which  are 
dropped  incidentally  here  and  there.  There  is  no  suspicion 
that  someone  is  trying  to  prove  a  case  or  to  defend  an 
opinion  about  Jesus.    We  have  an  unstrained  reaction  to 

'  Mirgin,  ^'beholding  as  in  a  mirror." 
II 


i 


li-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


tl^  personal.ty  of  Jesus;  and  this  should  prove  the  best 
kmd  of  mateml  for  a  study  of  the  significance  of  JeSs 
We  ought  to  find  more  truth  about  Jesus  here  thin   • 
the  creeds     For  the  creeds  are  the  records  of   mJlttual 
vttf  of  {rfe""  ^""^'^'^  ^"^  ^'^  -  shall  STe' 
But  wlien  we  speak  of  the  cpontaneity  of  the  poet  and 
the  prophet    we  must  be  careful  to  observe  that  their 
.mpress.on  of  Jesus  was  not  received  on  a  dean  canJa 
VVe  have  already  observed  that  a  man's  view  of  Jesulfs 
affected  by  h.s  mental  background.     It  has,  however    to 
be  noted  that  a  man's  mental  background  is  comS  of 
two  elements-that  which  he  has  put  into  it  hTS  by 
h.s  own  thought  and  self-discipline;  and  that  which  Ee 
has   .nher,ted      Sometimes   what   he   has  put   in   himself 
has    largely   obliterated    what   he    found   there   when  t 
began  to  look  into  it;  sometimes  his  own  cortributon  has 
been  wholly  determined  by  what  was  there  before      ft"t 
ne,ther  of  these  extremes  describes  the  case  of  the  grea 
majonty  of  men.     Most   of  us   endeavor  to   harmf^ize 
our  .nhenance  with   the   things   we   subsequently  lea  „ 
rebels     "'""  *"'^°"'^"^'^  conservatives  nor  incorrigtwe 

When  we  speak  of  inheritance  here,  we  are  thinking  not 
of  any  b.as  of  physical  heredity,  bu  of  what  Mr  R^ 
jamin  Kidd  calls  "cultural"  or  "soc  al  hered  tv  "  u  "' 
not  what  is  born  in  us  that  matters  so  much'  "^wha    we 

determine  the  .fof  our  life      n.nt:    T""'   '=''''«>'   *° 

what  the  resuh  would  have  been  if  Dante  L  1  rT„      • 
could  have  brought  their  minds  in  a  k  nd  of  virg  rn"e7 
ness  to  the  contemplation  of  Jesus;  but  that  was^no  more 


VISION  AND  REVELATION 


(I-Sl 


possible  to  them  than  it  is  to  us.  Wt  have  to  acknowledge 
that  they  approached  Jesus  with  a  certain  inherited  bias; 
and  for  that  we  must  make  what  allowance  we  can  in 
our  study  of  them. 

But  there  is  an  important  distinction  to  be  drawn  here. 
While  we  are  inevitably  children  of  our  social  and  reli- 
gious environment  and  never  quite  outgrow  the  kind  of 
mental  habit  which  it  induces  in  us,  yet  it  does  not  follow 
that  we  shall  adhere  to  all  the  ideas  and  doctrines  which 
our  fathers  held.  Dante  inherited  and  retained  a  Catholic 
habit  of  nind,  but  this  did  not  prevent  his  repudiating  a 
part  of  the  current  Catholic  teaching;  Browning  inherited 
and  retained  a  Protestant  habit  of  mind,  but  he  cannot  be 
cited  as  an  orthodox  Protestant.  They  exercised  the  right 
to  form  independent  personal  judgments.  They  did  not 
accept  their  view  of  Jesus  from  the  creeds ;  the  view  we 
find  in  them  is  their  own,  and  the  fact  that  Dante's  view 
was  that  of  a  pious  medieval  Catholic  does  not  alter  this 
fact.  We  have  to  do  with  the  judgments  of  men  who  were 
free  to  make  up  their  own  minds. 

This  raises  a  question  for  ourselves.  Not  one  of  us 
has  a  right  to  take  his  view  of  Jesus  ready-made.  He 
has  to  reach  his  own  conclusion.  The  outlook  and  work- 
ing of  our  minds  are  profoundly  and  in  most  cases  perma- 
nently affected  by  the  tradition  we  were  born  into.  At 
the  same  time  we  must  not  blindly  accept  the  body  of 
doctrines  and  formulae  in  which  our  fathers  cast  their 
faith  and  their  sp'ritual  experience.  For  faith  and  ex- 
perience, being  living  things,  should  also  be  growing 
things;  and  they  require  to  be  continually  embodied  in 
new  forms  and  new  statements  more  consistent  with  their 
expanding  life.  So  that  it  is  not  wrong  to  sit  lightly 
to  past  traditions.  We  must,  of  course,  respect  the  past, 
but  we  must  -not  be  bound  by  it.  Tradition  is  a  good  thing 
when  it  is  kept  in  its  proper  place ;  but  that  place  is 
behind  us  and  not  ahead  of  us.  And  generally  there  is 
as  much  of  tradition  embodied  in  the  stuff  of  our  minds 
13 


fI-6J 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


I 


as  we  need,  without  our  carrying  over  tl,.  t 
of  doctrine  in  which  it  exp?e"sed  il  f      ^/""'  '^'"="' 
gam  a  personal  impression  or/esus  that  .■"  *'  f"=  '° 
own,  we  must  not  start  out  with  »  fi     J  •?°'"S  '°  •>«  °"'- 
fcular  dogma  concerning  Himlst  hrfi  If"  "'"'  ^  P"" 
true,  as  though  the  Spirit  ofTnH^    f    """^  ^"'l  f°«ver 
about  Him.    We  musfaonrL  ^  r^""^  "°  ""''^  '°  '«»  «s 
dice  and  preconceSl X  ^s  ^X  ''"'  '^°'"  P^^J"' 
Poets  did;  they  went  out  to  export hL °"''  ^'°^^'''  ^"'^ 
being  bound  by  pa,r  interDret^f;        «.=  meaning  without 
What  St.  Pau/ca'i.s  ■•^Z^^::^.  ^^Sd  f^^"'^  ^^ 


First  Week,  Sixth  Day 


"nfo"U'iroJ5'the''rtf,°er'"vi:.?h°'"5'  •'•''°'»  ^  ''"I  send 
P^^^edeth  from  the  FaS'er  he  sSalfS'"*  "*."•«>',  which 
and  ye  also  bear  witness  her,..!  ^^"  witness  of  me  • 
from  the  beginning.llT/o^gl.'j'/^'^'^'^ye  have  been  with  me 

Jp'el  w:s\°:erd':ChaTr'''%^'"^--  *''-  I"^e's 
to  teach;  from  wh  ch  i    Z^ilr,'"^''"  ^'^  '°  do  and 
believed  that  the  Acts  of  the  Ann^H  "'"'"  *^'  "^^  writer 
of  the  deeds  and  words  o    Jet      ILTf.'  "^""''""^tion 
fh.ng  at  all,  it  means  that  Je  us  sSl         .  "  ""'""^  ^"y 
m  every  enterprise  and  i,  nr.     f     "^ontmues  to  work 
which  is  in  line'  whh  the  rec'ordT   t'h"e  TV'f''"'''''' 
ence  and  teaching     And  so  i^f  f  ■        ^P°st'«'  experi- 
that  men's  experience  of  Chr.     /  '°  '"^"  °""  "^ore 
Apostles    contilnsmLeral"^  which     r''  "'''  °'  '^^ 
adequate  judgment  upon  Jesus      Vt  L     ^''"^    '°    ^" 
whether  we  have  not  come    o  a  better  ^       ■  '^'"  "^"^^'^ 
an  understanding  of  Jesus  than  .n  ^°"'"°"  *°  '•«=^=h 

since  the  days  of  the^  Apostl"     /hi'T'""^  ^'^""^"°" 
qualification  for  understanding  r  ^P°'""  ''^d  one 

and   for  the  lack  of  whicf  n^oth  n"'  "^^'"^  ^'  ^^^'  "°t 
They  had  lived  with  H  m     bT^  "!?  "^""^P^n^ate  us. 
W  more  about  wha^J^.t'sr:  fnTtSo.Ta^: 
14 


VISION  AND  REVELATION  [1-6] 

better  placed  for  an  understanding  of  Jesus  than  any  who 
have  gone  before  us. 

This  is  borne  out  by  the  history  of  the  creeds.  The 
creeds  were  an  attempt  to  capture  the  meaning  of  Jesus 
into  a  phrase.  The  attempt  could  not  succeed  in  so  far 
as  it  was  meant  to  fix  the  doctrine  concerning  Jesus 
permanently.  For  one  thing,  words,  being  only  symbols, 
cannot  gather  into  themselves  the  whole  reality  of  spirit- 
ual experience.  Som^  hing  is  left  out ;  and  that  the  most 
important  thing  of  all,  the  life  itself.  You  cannot  com- 
press life  into  a  form  of  words.  It  "breaks  through 
language  and  escapes."  But  further,  a  form  of  words 
which  may  satisfy  one  generation  cannot  satisfy  another, 
if  the  spiritual  experience  has  gone  on  growing.  And 
so  the  creeds  have  had  to  be  patched  up  and  extended, 
in  order  to  try  to  include  new  apprehensions  of  truth  con- 
tained in  the  growing  experience.  For  instance,  before 
it  reached  its  present  form  in  740  A.  D.,  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  between  150  A.  D.  and  that  year,  had  passed 
through  at  least  twenty  phases.  The  importance  of  the 
creeds  is  that  they  are  landmarks  in  the  history  of  the 
growth  of  human  thought  about  Jesus.  They  have  no 
finality;  they  register  the  general  impressic  of  Jesus  in 
the  age  in  which  they  were  formulated.  e  stand  on 
them,  but  we  ought  to  go  beyond  them. 

And,  indeed,  if  our  spiritual  life  is  a  reality  we  are  bound 
to  go  beyond  them.  As  Bradford  the  Puritan  said— God 
has  still  more  light  and  truth  to  break  forth  from  His 
holy  Word;  and  the  Fourth  Gospel  suggests  that  there  is 
more  truth  into  which  the  Spirit  of  God  is  yet  to  guide 
us.  The  value  of  our  prophets  and  poets  in  this  connection 
is  that  we  may  learn  from  them  how  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
still  testifying  to  men  concerning  Jesus;  and  it  would 
require  a  good  deal  of  hardihood  to  say  that  He  has 
finished  His  work.  Our  study  will  show  us  something 
of  the  peculiar  wealth  of  the  personality  of  Jesus;  and 
it  will  suggest  to  us  that  the  treasure  house  is  not  yet 
IS 


11-7] 


THAI  ONE  FACU 


ouSro^  thTcS  tTj?  T  '°  '^"^  °-  view 
of  accepting  the  view  ^  a  pro  "h'  °  "'°'^  "'^  ''^"^^^ 
take  their  views  as  materiaKh  ,'  T ''  ^'  *""'' 
own;  and  if  we  seeic  a  true  v  ion  n  ."'•  '°.  *°™  °"^ 
and  hu^iiit,  and  diligence!  7Z":j,  brdln^^dTr^ 


First  Week,  Seventh  Day 


Whence  hath  this  man  iesirtI"%'"*^""''e<J.  sayW 
!''»^°«  that  is  gi^r,S?to  tWslVn ""'"'-,  ^''«  •»  th*' 
such  mighty  works  wrought  by  hif ^^.-f",^  ^''at  mean 
*5  carpenter,  the  son  of  Marv   aL  k"'^*u    ^*  "»*  this 

n^any  great  and  notable  fibres  J,  h'T  ^""^  "'"°^"  ^° 
tude  to  Him  be  declared  tfbe  V    ^    '°'^'  ^"''  ""^'^  ^'ti- 
Perhaps  we  can  best  answer  Thf  "  °^  "^  ""^  ''^^'h? 
another.     Eucken,  the  German  nh'     ''"1'"°"  ^^  "3"°'*"^ 
the  life  of  Jesus/asks:  ''How  earn  T.'"'  ^^^^'^'"^  °^ 
particular  point   was   thel^J^Ss^A^a?^  '^at  this 
movement,  that  old  ideals  were  shSreH     '°.  '"'"8'"^  ^ 
arose,  that  the  whole  orevinnc  v,  .        "'"'  *"^  "^w  ones 
and  previous  standards'  faledt^      .''/'  '"^  ^^'  "P^^' 
longing  took  possession  of  nankindf'f^  "'^'  ^  '"■Shty 
even  now  after  hundreds  of  veTr '  "         "^  """■"'  ^^^h 

The  distinction  between  B    C  TnH%"°n ' "^y^"^ " " 
an  aiJair  of  the  calendar     t/ r  '^-  °-  '^  "°'  merely 

historical    circumtSlnamer"-*?  ^^"^  ''■*^°«-' 


Historical     ci;^;:Z:in  l^™  ^      -       .- 

aiTectedth  "'.,'';:.,,'"  '^e  worHf  which 


i6 


VISION  AND  REVELATION 


[1-7] 


pose  that  useful  person,  the  "man  from  Mars,"  were  to 
visit  us  and  to  examine  our  human  story  during  the  last 
twenty  centuries.  Ho  would  find  that  it  is  dominated  by 
(inf  figure.  The  greatest  and  oldest  voluntary  society 
known  to  history  is  called  by  His  name ;  many  of  the 
most  significant  passages  in  secular  history  gather  around 
His  person.  Many  of  the  greatest  achievements  of  man- 
kind in  literature,  art,  and  music  either  commemorate 
Him  or  owe  their  inspiration  to  Him.  Hardly  a  single 
department  of  our  life  tut  has  been  touched  and  pro- 
foundly i...,dified  by  Him.  In  short,  it  is  impossible  to 
understand  the  history  of  two  millenniums  without  refer- 
ence to  Him.  He  is  by  far  the  most  outstanding  figure  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  and  His  influence  upon  the  lives 
and  affairs  of  men  is  unique  and  without  parallel.  And 
today,  after  so  long  a  time,  His  name  has  power  to  evoke 
from  men  large  sacrifices  and  to  inspire  them  to  great 
heroism. 
But  there  is  even  more  than  this  to  be  explained— 

'he  H5ii4ae-iiBiM:fissioBJti&jtf4.cao^ijteiit!j:  mAs^-xiaon  the 

tmnds  of. JOdi.vid»al .  ntgn.  "You  may  go  to  the  Nicene 
Creed  or  the  Formula  of  Chalcedon  or  the  Augsburg  Con- 
fession to  see  how  men  defined  and  placed  the  Person  of 
Christ;  and  you  may  think  them  right  or  wrong.  But 
what  we  have  to  reckon  with  is  the  circumstance  that 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  and  women  in  every 
generation  since  His  day  have  had  a  sense  of  His  sig- 
nificance to  their  lives  which  they  could  express  only  by 
worshiping  him  as  God,  that  when  they  thought  of  God 
they  thought  of  Jesus,  and  that  it  was  the  face  of  Jesus 
which  they  saw  when  they  prayed  to  God."  And  this  has 
happened  to  no  person  in  history  in  the  permanent  and 
universal  way  in  which  it  has  happened  to  Jesus. 

And  the  problem  which  has  to  be  solved  is  t!.is:  This 

person,   who   has   gained   this   strange   ascendancy   over 

men's  minds  and  hearts,  has  so  profoundly  influenced  their 

history,  was  a  peasant,  born  in  an  obscure  village  in  an 

17 


~ 


fl-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


obscure  land,  who  livprl  h;.  it    ■ 

«;tent  lowliness  and  J^.n  s  '  n  '"  '='7"T^'='"«'  "^  -=""- 
of  the  world,  far  irLZCCn:T''l''^''-^^y''''^-- 
«'ho  died  a  malefactor's  shamSlt."'  f  ''^^'-  ="'d 
of  some  considerable  inmortance   '       '  '  '''  "'  ''^^^'• 

o  try  to  understand  how  thl  "tran/"'  °""°°''  "P^-^  "f- 
It  surely  has  a  good  deal  o  te,l  '""'r"''  ""'^  ^''°«- 
world  we  live  in  and  the  way  n  h  if  °"'  "^'  '''"d  °f 
ourselves  to  it.  Quite  anarT  fJ  Tu  "''  ^'  '''°"'d  relate 
of  the  Church  about  Jesus  hi  k-^'  '"^^''''"''^  '^^"^'""g 
consequences  of  His  I  fe  and  death  '/ °J  '^'  ^'"'°"'^^i 
s.on  which  He  has  made  upon  tl^ ':"?,  "^  '°'^'  '""P^"- 
the  ages  since  His  coming  re  'ire T.f  °^  T"  "'^°«?h 
a  senous  efifort  to  understand  R  "^^  '''°"'d  -"ake 

s.«.^.o„a,o»x„o„o„x.™o.c„ss.OK 

was   the   inspiration   of  the   OM   t    ♦ 
tSr  '"  "^'"^  ^-  'Hat  Of  Sav°:?arl^f  Tfl.T„°S 

fHey:t^^rof'';L'rw^''^::i-eve,atio„  ceased  when 

■n  what  quarters  are  we    ikelv  t "  fiT  ^""'="-     "  ""t, 
of  later  revelations?  ^    "  ^""^  traces  or  records 

towards  them?  If  the  ^  '  * .  ,n7"  '"""^^  '°  '^'''^ 
question,  by  what  principles  are  w^  "  ''^'P'^^  ^''^out 
fre  we  to  test  the  nczv  in  order  Z  '°  '""^^^  ■''?  How 
>t  .s  true?  °'^°'='^  'nat  vve  may  know  that 


a 


CHAPTER  II 

A  General  Survey 

We  have  already  observed  that  if  we  could  send  a  man 
o^he  n'iVrT  ''""^'^dge  to  examine  the  literature 

would  be  that   at  a  certam  pomt,  a  personality  altouether 
un.que  jn  wealth  and  power  impinged  on  the  life  of  man 
gradually  changmg  the  tone  and  stress  of  literature  and' 
sTnt  Ihfn'  r™""!,"'  '"""'""  °"  ''•     "  'hat  man  were 
ol  nf  ?f  '  """^""  '"  gallery,  where  he  might  sec 
some  of  the  great  masterpieces  of  painting,  equally  he 
would  discover  that  the  supreme  interest  has  Vthered 
around  th.s  same  person,  who  is  represented  in  an  endless 
number  of  aspects,  yet  is  always  easily  recognizable     The 
absolute  preemmence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  essential  art 
and    hterature    of   nineteen   centuries   is    beyond    seriots 
fiuesfon     He  has  had  no  competitor.    At  the  same  t^bie 
.t  should  be  remarked  that  the  growth  of  Jesus'  bflun^e 
upon  Literature  and  Art  has  not  been  a  constant  quantity 
There   have   been    periods   of   strange   sterility    in    both 
loma,ns  durmg  the  Christian  era.     For  one  period  of  a 
housand  years,  indeed.  Art  has  practically  noth  ng    and 
L.terature  very  little  that  is  new  to  tell  us  of  the'  sTg 
nificance  of  Jesus.  ^ 

It  was  not  that  men  did  not  think  much  of  Jesus  that 
the  art  and  hterature  of  that  period  say  so  little  ha 
|s  new  concernmg  Him.  That  there  was  no  such  growth 
m  mens  understanding  of  Him  during  that  period  as  n 
the  three  previous  and  the  six  subsequent  centuries,  seems 
o  be  due  ,n  the  ma.n  to  the  tendency  to  place  the  thurch 
at  the  center  of  interest  rather  than  Jesus.  It  was  the 
19 


(II-IJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


fdVil°/Sr--'  °^  'he  elaboration  of  .he  Catholic 

ceSd  E  t  'z  ptf  St  "r '° "« --  - 

about  its  Lord's  is  a  Z^Z  and  «n  *"' ,°^"^'"^^  '"=>" 
summar  ly  here  It  hi.o.inc  "1^  ""  ""'^  be  told  very 
of  Consta^ti^ea  iV'  f  he'oIrS'rr"'''  "--ersron^ 
the  Church  became^o™aV  alciatef'-,.'^!''^'''  '™"' 
state;  hitherto  the  Church  had  btnl  ^'^}  ""«  "^^u'sr 
now  it  became  an  officia  corpor^t  "  !  "."''  '"'^'P'ndent ; 
with  official  corporations,  Zeean  to  t  '  ''  ''  ""=  ^^^ 
-n  .ts  status  than  in  its  mission  i°  v  ."'°"=  '""^'^^'^d 
next  eight  or  nine  centuri«wac  Uriel  ''It'"^^  during  the 
for  su  y  ^.^^  the   St^te    "A  l;'°f  a  struggle 

"fed,  ,n  the  spirit  it  showed  fh!  •  ,"'f  "'^^P°ns  it 
difference  between  i  and  the  St?.  "'  '"'^  P""Ptible 
largely  external;  its  concept  on  o^  n  J-'  "^"^  '^^""■^ 
"lined  by  the  ordinary  stanZd^nru-''""^  ^'^  deter- 
fame  largely  despiritualized  and  ?o°i^'  ''°"''-  ^'  be- 
't  is  significant  that  thrfirst  1°  °'''"  ^'''°"-    ^'"^ 

apprehension  of  Jesus  after   '°."'P'<^«°"s  sign  of  a  new 

Dante,whowas.aswesha    se    V'""'^•'"'■°'^   -^=  in 
of  the  doctrine  of  thTsepara  ,0;      °r  J'"''"'^"'  P^^acher 

Vet  during  this  period  .her      °^  ^''"'"'^b  and  State, 
flame  of  spifituali.y'Tvt      The'm"  '""^  "''°  ''^P'  'be 
■n  .ts  origin  a  protest  against  the  «"'•/", '"°"'"'^"'  ^as 
the  official  church;  and  in     he  !'""."•  "'""'^^"P'^y  °f 
rocks,  in  remote  cloisters    men  ruY''   '"  "^«  °f  the 
Martin  of  Tours.  J  rome    ,„,  t  ^"''°7'  ^"^ustine, 
founder  of  the   Benedict  ^eO.de"^'."^.''""^   ("^e 
burnmg.     And  we  may  presume  th,t^h     ""=  """"fi^" 
a   succession   of  faithful   sof.kr^      """^  ^as  always 
recorded  lives  i„  the  commn     '      "'"^^  °^'^''"^  and   un- 
on  the  hving  word  i^  h~v  a"nr-°'  '"^"'  "'^^  P^-d 
t|on  to  generation.    Prof™  o?  Lr,,/'"""'/  ^'°"'  S<^"^'^' 
the  Reformation"  has  shown  u^htThe"r  '"  "'?/^'°^^  °' 
^-'.  rehgion  in  numberless"Getl:'^hrri„  thfS 
ao 


^  GENERAL  .W/fyp.y  ,„    , 

It  is,  indeed  n  uch  1^7^'^  7'«.-s.icaI  syLn,' 
tentious  saintliness  hat  weTre  L^^  'L"'^  '"''  ""P^«- 
by  which  the  Christian  l^e  hi,  ^  ""=  "'''  channels 

this  period  whi^h  we  ar.  nn  a-  '"""^  ''°*"  "><=  ^ges.  ]„ 
tian  hope  does  fLuentlv  bre-.^"'??^'  '"^  ''^'"^  ^hris- 
ing  darkness,  as  7t  S  for  Tn,,^  "''°"«.''  ""^  ^""°""d- 
Cynewulf  who  sang  o  '"""  '"  "'«=  English  poet 


who 


"The  great  Leader,  the  Prince  Majestic," 


"  ;Twixt  God  and  .an  placed  a  ghostly  pledge  of  ,ove." 
Ihis  was  in  800  A.  D  abnnt  .h«  j  • 
millennium.  With  Da^e  hlt.r"' t'll  ''^  ^'"'"^ 
new  age  of  faith  and  spiritual  Tn,iUT  ,  '"^^'""'"S  » 
task  will  deal  with  some  "f  C I  '"^°"^  P'««t 
period.  But  it  may  be  worth  ^m  ^"■"^  °^  '^"'^  '"ter 
of  the  prophets  and  poet^by  a  Trief  '°  "■''^"f  °"^  ""^y 
of  the  treatment  of  Ss  in  Lt        '"'"''^  °'  "«=  "'^""-y 

a  ve;;  :aTp^^?JdrT;"res:rav!:^'  ^r  =°"^'''  - 

symbol,  there  by  a  more  deHh.ro.  '  ''"''  "^^  ^  -*™ple 

Whether  these  "^arirporiliu  "%'''"'''  "'  P°"raiture. 
'ikeness  of  Him  is  dXfu  "'si  Vr  BaT^^'  ^  ^"' 
do;  Dean  Farrar  denies  it.  Bu  it  reaflv  Hn!"'  '"^^  '^'^ 
very  much.  One  thing,  however  h^'T  T  "'''''" 
namely,  that  from  the  hemnnt^^V  '  ^n.ficant  enough, 
picture  what  is  virtually  a  conf/  ^fT"  P"'  '"'°  his 
in  the  portrait  all  that  he  kne  °"u°^  ^'""^^  '°  i"^<"de 
not  the  aureole  fn  ended  to  \TZ  r"^""  *°  ^  *'^"<=-  Was 
painter  felt  to  be  there  but^  wr  h"  T"""""^  ^^ich  the 
pencil  or  pigment?         '  "''""''  ''^"^*^''  t°  ^"bmit  to 

4"'orctfs:ian:rrrth^'^''T'  """^  °f  ="'  i"  'he 
over  the  concep^on  ^f 'Jet  Tt^l^Z  SitfX 

2J 


THAT  OK'  FACE 


(II-il 

prolific  in  their  idws  asXir  i^      ?"'"""'  "  ^^^^  ""'5 
been  sterile  and  SspLeS   '  ^"'"""^  Predecessor,  had 

DAILY  READINGS 
Second  Week,  First  Day 


doln'^i.Vfor'tMe%'^=  h!  tC"- "'•£^"0  ''Veth 
not  a  ihepherd,  whose  own  Vh-.i,*''"*  "  "  hireling,  and 
the  wolf  comii^g,  aSd  Cv"  th  th«  .?  '"  '"'}'  behSldeth 
the  wolf  snatchlth  them  .m?  .7.»'''"P'  ?"«*  "eeth,  and 
because  he  i,  a  h  reli„g";„'S'l  "«"«n^  Vhem:  he  ^eeth 
am  the  good  shepherd- and  rlno  "°?  *°''  *•"•  »heep.  J 
own  know  me,  even  as  the  F-^h^  T*"'  °"'"'  ""^  "ine 
know  the  Father;  "d  I  Uy  Zv^l  """""th  me.  and  I 
And  other  sheep  I  have  wh?^  ""^  ''^«  *«""  *e  sheep, 
them  also  I  must  bring?'a„d  SL  l[S.n°£  °*  ">"  f°'d 
and^th^.  Shall  become^"n:%*o^?.  ^  sfeeTJI}!?,^ 

second  and  third  centurier  doubftc  '-"'^'^°!"'^^'  >"  'he 
still  older  trad.-tion.    He  is  freouen  '^°''""«^  "P°"   « 

good  Shepherd"_"a  beautiful^^r  V.T''"'"''  ^■"'  "'he 
Stanley  has  said.  This  fa  "  'is^^^L". ''^"'■'•"  ''  °"" 
the  freshness  and  bloom  wh  ch  SeZZ' cZ^T'^'' ,°' 
cerned  in  the  world  after  th„  V    •         K  '-""^"ans  dis- 

He  came  the  w^ld  haJtotn  o  d'a"n^d°.V""%  ^''"'^ 
the  pallor  of  death  was  u?onTs  face  Lfn^  '"''  ^"■'^^ 
last  gasp;  Greek  philosophy  was  no  ^nr  Tu""^'"' ''' 
of  its  great  past-  Pan    o-r^ff  p  ""^^  '*'^"  ^  "•">" 

But  th!  coming  of  Tesusr.  v'r'  7'  ''"^  ""'°  death, 
world;  and  a  new  jorand  ,11  ''',  ''^°'''  ''^""^"^ 
exuberance  and  s^r  ng  oflfjT"^  '"'°  ■'•  The 
world  in  Which  Hoje  ha^d  t rrL^LTe'S  f^^  J 

22 


^  GENEHAI.  SURyEY 


wcTc  laid  to  rcJ    So  stron?  /    *^'  '"'"■''■'=  "^  '"='">•" 

had  awakened  .ha.'tir'Kn.  of  t'e  C  T  '""^  '""'  J""' 
tl'eir  memorials  of  bitter  pcT^ecutfon  f^T''"'  ^^•'"'  ^" 
And  on  those  walk  i    "  i^  "°"'  '"''*''  '»  d'spcl  it. 

a  witness  °o  i  "wn  fahh  '  '."."/  ''""'"^^  "^  •)""=•. 
this  day.  ''""'  ""''  ''^e   which   remains  to 

of'^rJ^dTheptr;  wW^h  :'  '!"=  ^'"'•"=°'"''  P-'-" 
and  wh^-h  is  iSh  recll  J  he'r'eTn  °'''"  ."'1"''°"^'' 
trinal  controversies  in  wh  ch  thTr.,  u"'  °'  ""^  ''°'=- 
tlic  "fierce  Tertullian"  A  .-,  £^"''^''  ^"^  ^n^olvti, 
'•The  sheep  He  sis   th^g„,f;  jif-f)    had   asserted. 

perhaps  in  conscious  protesfalainst  ,h  w"-  '""'•  ""''' 
severity,  the  artists  of  th«  r^.  .""^  '■^*"""  Father's 
a»  carr'y'in,  on  Htfshou  de^s  n  r^T  ^l  7^^.''  J"- 
s^^hed,"  .san,  Matthew  Ar^o^dT^  L^'of  S^ne'ts  "'"^ 
"The  infant  Church !  of  love  she  felt  .h.  ,m 

On  those  wa  Is  subterranean,  where  she  hid 

^ne  her  Good  Shepherd's  hasty  imaee  drew— 
And  on  h,s  shoulders,  not  a  Iamb,  a  kid  " 

o'utL";^  erem^rsl'^lTHV' "f^^^"'-'"^'^  ^^  ^-^^ 
early  centuries  Ind  it  „  ^hns  ,an  experience  of  the 
the  draw  ™;„  the  r!T  I  ""'  "P'-^^ed  itself  in 
Joyous  "good  Shepherd"  tr  "'  ''•  '"''^'  ^''^'''f"'- 
our  undefstandingof  Jesu  "^°"""'  contribution  to 


Second  Week,  Second  Day 


83 


|ll-2| 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


in  the  mldit  of  th«  cindlcitickt  ont  like  unto  a  ion  of 
man,  clotlitd  witli  a  garmtnt  down  to  tlia  foot,  and  girt 
about  at  ttw  braaita  witli  a  goldtn  girdit.  And  liit  liead 
and  liii  liair  ware  whit*  at  wiiita  wooi,  wiiita  ai  anow; 
and  liit  ayea  war*  a*  a  flam*  of  firs;  and  Ilia  fact  lili* 
unto  burniahed  braaa,  a*  if  it  had  b««n  rafinad  in  a 
furnac*;  and  hi*  voic*  a*  th*  voic*  of  many  watar*. 
And  h*  had  in  hia  right  hand  acvcn  atara:  and  out  of 
hia  mouth  proce*d«d  a  aharp  two-edged  aword:  and  hii 
countenance  waa  aa  the  aun  ahineth  in  hi*  atrength.  And 
when  I  law  him,  I  fell  at  hii  feet  at  one  dead.  And  he 
laid  hia  right  hand  upon  me,  laying.  Fear  not ;  I  am  the 
firat  and  the  laat,  and  the  Living  one ;  and  I  wai  dead, 
and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  and  I  have  the 
key*  of  death  and  of  Hade*.— Rev.  i:  ia-i8. 

Look  now  at  the  othri  end  of  that  sterile  middle  period. 
"During  the  early  and  middle  periods  of  Christian  art," 
says  Sir  Wyke  Bayliss,  "we  look  in  vain  for  expression 
on  the  face  of  Christ."  It  was  this — exfression — which 
the  great  painters  of  the  Awakening  added  to  the  por- 
traiture of  Jesus.  But  does  not  this  imply  a  deeper 
understanding  of  Jesus?  The  painter  executes  not  the 
mere  likeness  of  a  man — the  camera  can  do  that — but 

"So  paints  him  that  his  face 
The  shape,  the  colour  of  a  mind  and  life 
Lives  for  his  children,  ever  at  its  best." 

In  some  respects  the  Renascence  painters  follow  tradition, 
but  in  their  own  distinctive  contribution  to  the  portraiture 
of  Jesus,  it  was  this  further  thing  indicated  by  Tennyson 
that  they  introduced. 

The  awakening  began  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
it  gave  us  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Langland  in  Literature,  as 
it  began  a  new  era  in  Christian  art.  Art,  like  Literature, 
had  its  morning  stars;  but  the  great  dawn  began  with 
Giotto  and  Cimabue;  then  Fra  Angelico  in  Italy  and  the 
van  Eyck  brothers  in  Flanders  took  up  the  tale,  until 
we  reach  the  great  age  of  Michelangelo,  Titian,  Raphael, 
24 


A  GENERAL  SURl'EY 


rii-»i 


CorrcKio,  and  da  Vinci.    "From  this  quintet,"  lays  one 
Kfcat  authority,  "have  come  the  finest  interpretation*  of 
the  face  of  Christ  the  world  has  ever  seen."    And  this 
happened  because  these  men  came  to  their  work  with  a 
reverent  insight  borne  on  a  surging  new  life.    A  friend 
who  had  come  to  see  da  Vinci's  great  picture  "The  Last 
Supper"  remarked  first  of  all  the  brilliancy  of  the  silver 
cup;  da  Vinci  took  his  brush  and  painted  the  cup  out 
—he  would  have  nothing  in  his  picture  which  drew  atten- 
tion away  from  its  central  Figure.    That  was  the  spirit 
of  the  time  within  this  particular  region.    Unfortunately 
da  Vinci's  picture  has  all  but  perished;  but  the  original 
sketch  of  the  face  of  Jesus  made  for  "The  Last  Supper" 
still  exists.     In  that  study,  da   Vinci  has  embodied  in 
undying  beauty  the  sad,  tender  grace  which  he  read  in 
the  countenance  of  Jesus.    And  as  da  Vinci  has  given  us 
a  picture  of  the  tender,  gracious,  comforting  Jesus,  so 
Michelangelo   has   in   his   "Dies    Irjc"   depicted   Christ's 
hatred  of  the  sin  which  rejects  His  grace.    Raphael,  in 
his  picture  of  the  Transfiguration,  leads  us  into  the  secret 
places  of  Jesus'  power.  His  intense  communion  with  God; 
Titian,  in  his  picture  of  the  incident  of  the  Tribute  Money, 
has  shown  us  the  perfectly  balanced,  strong  character! 
the  quiet  reserve  of  which  only  revealed  its  great  strength^ 
and  which  is  to  be  explained  only  on  the  ground  of  that 
rapt  communion  with  God  which  Raphael  depicts.     Cor- 
reggio's  'Hicce  Homo"  is  a  representation  of  the  suflfering 
Saviour.     All  these  have  something  of  their  own  to  tell 
us   about   Jesus— they    bear    witness   to    the    grace    and 
gentleness,    the   blazing   purity    and    holiness,    the   quiet 
strength  and  suffering  of  Him   who  they   believed  had 
bought  them  with  a  price. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  now  to  follow  the  further  course 
of  Christian  art;  but  in  the  main  it  has  been  true  to  the 
great  Renascence  tradition.  Velasquez,  in  his  picture  ot 
the  Crucifixion,  gives  us  the  merest  glimpse  of  the 
Saviour's  face,  leaving  us  to  read  into  it  what  unutterable 

25 


I 


in-3l 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


depths  of  sorrowing  love  we  may.  Rembrandt's  picture 
of  Jesus  blessing  little  children  is  in  the  true  succession 
of  the  larger  conception  which  came  with  the  Renascence. 
In  our  own  time,  Burne-Jones  and  Holman  Hunt  have 
given  no  unworthy  expression  to  their  sense  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  Jesus.  The  well-known  "The  Light  of  the 
World,"  by  the  latter,  is  perhaps  the  most  moving  Chris- 
tian appeal  ever  uttered.  You  have  the  whole  Gospel  in 
the  attitude  and  gesture  of  the  knocking,  waiting  Christ. 

Second  Week,  Third  Day 

Who  hath  believed  our  report?  and  to  whom  hath  the 
arm  of  the  Lord  be«n  revealed?  For  he  grew  up  before 
him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground: 
he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness;  and  when  we  see  hira, 
there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him.  He  was 
despised,  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief:  and  as  one  from  whom  men  hide 
their  face  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not. 

Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sor- 
rows: yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgres- 
sions, he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities :_  the  chastise- 
ment of  our  peace  was  upon  him;  and  with  his  stripes 
we  are  healed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray; 
we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord 
hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.— Isaiah  53:  1-6. 

And  yet,  "what  painter  ever  yet  produced  a  wholly 
satisfactory  face  of  Christ?'"  When  Leon  Bonnat,  the 
modern  French  realist,  took  a  dead  body  from  the  Morgue 
and  hung  it  up  on  a  cross  and  then,  having  painted  it, 
called  the  result,  "The  Crucifixion,"  we  do  not  wonder  that 
he  failed  to  do  a  convincing  work.  At  least  some  degree 
of  sympathetic  imagination  is  a  prerequisite  of  such  a 
task. 

Dr.  Peabody  has  pointed  out  that  "with  but  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  Christ  of  the  Masters  is  the  Man  of  Sorrows, 


•J.  C.  Van  Dyke, 


"The  Meaning  of  Pictures,"  p.  28. 

a6 


A  GENERAL  SURVEY 


[11-31 


whom  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  and  who  is  stricken 
for  the  transgressions  of  His  peop!""  ird  it  is  a  fair 
question  whether  in  all  this  there  ii  not  ai;  '"'Anient  of 
misrepresentation  or  at  least  of  j::.-".!;  aeration.  The  in- 
terpretation of  Jesus  as  the  "si.fftring  ser  ant,"  the 
despised  and  rejected  of  men,  has,  it  u  sai'l,  caused  a 
wholly  inordinate  interest  to  be  attached  to  the  darker  and 
more  tragic  aspects  of  His  history.  Renan,  for  instance, 
accounts  for  the  influence  of  Jesus  by  saying  that  "he 
was  entranced  by  the  vision  of  the  divine  life  and  gave 
himself  with  delight  to  its  expression";  while  Zangwill 
speaks  of  Him  as  "not  the  tortured  God  but  the  joyous 
comrade  .  .  .  the  lover  of  warm  life  and  warm  sunlight, 
and  all  that  is  simple  and  fresh  and  pure  and  beautiful." 
In  that  case,  of  course,  we  must  admit  that  the  joyous 
young  Shepherr!  '^f  the  Catacombs  is  a  more  faithful  repre- 
sentation of  Jesus  than  the  tragic  grandeurs  of  the 
Renascence  Christ. 

But  it  may  be  doubted  whether  this  contrast  is  real. 
Why  may  not  both  views  be  essentially  true  and  indeed 
mutually  fulfilling?  The  revolt  from  the  stress  on  the 
"suffering  servant"  interpretation  of  Jesus  is  of  course 
largely  due  to  the  feeling  that  the  traditional  view  of  the 
Christian  life  as  an  afifair  of  austere  self-renunciation  is 
hostile  to  the  appreciation  of  beauty  and  to  the  joy  of 
life.  In  point  of  fact,  this  is  not  true.  "When  a  man 
begins  to  appreciate  scenery,"  wrote  a  missionary  in 
Africa  some  time  ago,  "it  shows  that  our  efforts  are  begin- 
ning to  take  effect."'  It  is  also  worth  recalling  that  the 
earliest  known  landscape,  painted  in  1432  on  the  altarpiece 
of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Bavon  at  Ghent,  in  the  famous 
"Adoration  of  the  Mystical  Lamb"  by  the  brothers  van 
Eyck  already  referred  to,  belongs  to  this  period  when 
men's  eyes  were  chiefly  turned  to  the  Man  of  Sorrows. 
May  we  not  infer  from  this  that  with  a  recovered  sense 
of  the  redeeming  grace  of  Jesus  there  came  a  new  feeling 

•  "The  E»st  and  the  West,"  vol.  IV,  p.  82. 
87 


111-4] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


for  the  beauty  of  the  world  in  which  He  had  delighted? 
Perhaps  this  is  the  real  commentary  on  that  deep  word 
— "By  his  stripes  we  are  healed."  "Medieval  Art,"  says 
Sir  Wyke  Bayliss,  "in  its  first  splendour  was  art  trans- 
figured by  contact  with  the  divine  character  and  person 
of  Christ."  It  was  not  until  the  sixth  century  that  Chris- 
tian art  ventured  on  an  attempt  to  paint  the  Crucifixion; 
but  that  was  in  the  gloomy  millennium  and  it  came  to 
nothing.  With  the  Renascence  came  a  fuller  and  deeper 
appreciation  of  the  significance  of  the  Son  of  Man,  who 
came  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many  and  by  that  act 
to  give  men  "life  more  abundant";  and  out  of  that  new 
abundance  of  life  came  first  a  revitalized  art  and  then  a 
revitalized  religion.  The  great  discovery  of  that  period 
was  assuredly  this — that  suffering  is  the  price  of  re- 
demption, that  "without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no 
remission  of  sins,"  nor  anything  else  worth  while.  The 
Man  of  Sorrows  turned  out  to  be  the  author  of  true  joy. 

"The  one  central  figure  that  in  the  splendour  of  His 
divine  beauty  consecrated  Art  for  ever  was  that  of  Jesus."' 

Second  Week,  Fourth  Day 

And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  sat  at  meat  in  the  house, 
behold,  many  publicans  and  sinners  came  and  sat  down 
with  Jesus  and  his  disciples.  And  when  the  Pharisees 
saw  it,  they  said  tinto  his  disciples.  Why  eateth  your 
Master  with  the  publicans  and  sinners?  But  when  he 
heard  it,  he  said,  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need  of  a 
physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  But  go  ye  and  learn 
what  this  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice: 
for  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteotts,  but  siimers. — Matt, 
g:  10-13. 

We  have  seen  how  Art  has  in  the  main  fastened  on  and 
perpetuated  two  elements  in  the  personality  of  Jesus,  the 
joyous  simplicity  of  His  bearing  and  the  tragic  grandeur 
of  His  passion.    This  is  not  unnatural;  for  Art  tends  to 


*  "Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,"  p.  46. 
28 


A  GENERA  '.  SURVEY 


[II-4] 


seek   its   chief   sustenance   in   the   contemplation   of   the 
beauty  and  the  tragedy  of  life. 

This  serves  to  illustrate  a  point  which  we  shall  en- 
counter several  times  in  the  course  of  our  study — namely, 
the  almost  inevitable  way  in  which  forward-looking  men 
have  found  a  "kindred  spirit"  in  Jesus 

Another  and  the  best  example  of  this  tendency  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth  has  been 
as  rich  a  source  of  inspiration  and  courage  as  the  Good 
Shepherd  or  the  Suffering  Saviour.  There  has  hardly 
been  a  great  "rebel"  from  John  Ball  to  John  Brown  who 
has  not  sought  and  found  his  justification  in  Jesus;  and 
every  man  who  has  had  a  feeling  for  the  "common  people," 
the  great  human  mass  in  all  its  need  and  its  possibilities, 
has  found  strength  and  courage  in  the  story  and  example 
of  Jesus. 

Dr.  Peabody  has  put  on  record  a  number  of  statements 
made  by  German  working  men  about  Jesus.*  "Christ  was 
a  true  friend  of  the  working  people,"  said  one  of  thera 
(and  we  need  not  quote  any  other),  "not  in  His  words 
alone  but  in  His  deeds."  And  when  Dr.  Abbott  longed 
that  the  working  men  of  England  should  say:  "We  used 
to  think  that  Christ  was  a  fiction  of  the  priests  ...  but 
now  we  find  that  He  was  a  man,  after  all,  like  us,  a  poor 
working  man  who  had  a  heart  for  the  poor  .  .  .  now  we 
understand  this,  we  say,  though  we  do  not  understand  it 
all  or  anything  like  it.  He  is  the  man  for  us,"  he  was  only 
anticipating  a  day  when  a  meeting  of  workers  in  Hyde 
Park  in  London  gave  "three  cheers  for  Jesus  Christ." 

The  sense  of  this  broad  fundamental  human  appeal  of 
Jesus  is,  of  course,  no  new  thing.  When  Wyclif's  "poor 
priests"  were  impregnating  the  peasantry  of  England  with 
those  social  ideals  which  led  up  to  the  Peasants'  Revolt, 
when  John  Ball  the  "mad  priest  of  Kent"  led  the  men  of 
Kent  to  fight  the  social  oppression  of  the  time,  William 


'In  "Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Problem." 
29 


[II-S] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Langland  gave  expression  in  verse  to  the  spirit  which  in- 
spired this  insurgency: 

"For  our  joy  and  our  health,  Jesus  Christ  of  heaven 
In  pooi  man's  apparel  pursueth  us  ever ;  .  .  . 
For  -ill  we  are  Christ's  creatures,  and  of  His'  coffers  rich 
And  brethren  of  one  blood,  as  well  beggars  as  earls." 

Langland's  great  poem  "Piers  Plowman"  is  the  poor 
man's  Odyssey.  Piers  Plowman,  the  "hero"  of  the  poem, 
is  indeed  no  other  than  Jesus  Himself— "the  people's  man[ 
the  people's  Christ,  poor  humanity  adorned  with  love, 
hardworking  humanity  armed  with  indignation,  sym- 
pathetic humanity  clad  in  the  intelligence  that  knows  all 
—and  makes  allowances;  at  one  time  s.-tting  highborn 
ladies  to  work,  at  nnother  attacking  the  insolent  priest, 
at  another  calling  upon  Famine  to  help  him  against  the' 
loafing  growling  wastrel  of  the  streets;  but  always  en- 
couraging the  penitent  sinful,  helping  the  weak,  leading 
the  way  in  the  great  journey,  a  strange  figure,  Christ  in 
humanity,  humanity  Christ-clothed,  neither  all  a  poor 
man,  nor  all  a  ploughman,  nor  all  a  Jesus,  but  fading  and 
vanishing  and  reappearing  in  al!  forms  of  Kis  humanized 
divinity  and  ending  as  the  Christ-conqueror  that  from  the 
Cross  went  down  and  burst  the  doors  and  defied  the  brazen 
guns  of  hell.'" 

Second  Week,  Fifth  Day 

Since  then  the  children  are  sharers  in  flesh  and  blood, 
he  also  himself  in  like  manner  partook  of  the  same;  that 
through  death  he  might  bring  to  nought  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil;  and  might  deliver  all 
them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage.  For  verily  not  of  angels  doth  he 
take  hold,  but  he  taketh  hold  of  the  seed  of  Abraham. 
Wherefore  it  behoved  him  in  all  things  to  be  made  like 
unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faith- 
tul   high   priest   in  things   pertaining   to   God,   to  make 

minV'ubr  I*")''''"'    '""'oduclion    to   "Piers   Plowman,"    p.    x,    (Every- 

30 


A  GENERAL  SURVEY 


III-Sl 


propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  For  in  that  he 
himself  hath  suSFered  being  tempted,  Se  is  able  To  succour 
them  that  are  tempted.— Heb.  a:  14.18.  succour 

The  identification  of  Jesus  with   humanity  which  we 
have  seen  'n   'Piers  Plowman"  is  not  confined  to  William 

rff,n  fi^\-  Z?,"^?  ?""*  '°  ''"*'y  ^"^i"'  i"  detail,  we 
shall  find  him  full  of  the  same  thought.  Nor  is  it  in  the 
least  a  forced  or  arbitrary  interpretation,  for  it  is  in  a 
very  real  sense  what  Jesus  Himself  meant  when  He  called 
Himself  the  Son  of  Man,"  the  typical,  representative, 
ordmary  man-not  merely  one  of  us,  but  all  of  us.  And 
It  may  be  questioned  whether  if  an  instinctive  human 
response  to  an  idea  is  a  guarantee  of  its  truth,  any  idea 
is  more  completely  validated  than  this.  Is  there  any  one 
who  can  fail  to  feel  the  essential  truth  of  the  vision  re- 
corded by  the  great  Russian  Turgeniev? 

"I  saw  myself,  a  youth,  almost  a  boy,  in  a  lowpitched 
wooden  church.    The  slim  wax-candles  gleamed,  spots  of 
red,  before  the  old  pictures  of  the  Saints.     There  stood 
before  me   many  people,   all   fair-haired  peasant   heads. 
l<rom  time  to  time,  they  began  swaying,   falling,  rising 
again,  like  the  ripe  ears  of  wheat  when  the  wind  in  sum- 
mer passes  over  them.    All  at  once  a  man  came  up  from 
behind  and  stood  beside  me.    I  did  not  turn  towards  him, 
but  I  felt  that  the  man  was  Christ.     Emotion,  curiosity 
awe  overmastered  me.     I  made  an  effort  and  looked  at 
my  neighbour.     A  face  like  everyone's,  a  face  like  all 
men  s  faces.    The  eyes  looked  a  little  upward,  quietly  and 
intently;  the  lips  closed,  not  compressed;  the  upper  lip  as 
It  were  resting  on  the  other;  a  small  beard  parted  in  two- 
the  hands  folded  and  still;  and  the  clothes  on  him  like 
everyone s.     'What   sort   of  Christ  is   this?'   I   thought 
buch  an  ordinary,  ordinary  man.    It  cannot  be '    I  turned 
away,  but  I  had  hardly  turned  my  eyes  from  this  ordinary 
man  when  I  felt  again  that  it  was  really  none  other  than 
Christ  standing  beside  me.     Suddenly  my  heart  sank  and 
1  came  to  myself.     Only  then  I  realized  that  just  such 
31 


in-6] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


a  face  is  the  face  of  Christ — a  face  like  all  men's  faces." 
The  moral  involved  in  this  thought  has  been  beautifully 
put  in  a  poem  by  Alice  Meynell.  Despite  its  Catholic  and 
sacramentarian  background,  the  truth  is  no  less  valid  for 
Protestants : 

"O  Christ,  in  this  man's  life 
This  stranger  who  is  thine— in  all  his  strife 
All  his  felicily,  his  good  and  ill 
In  the  assaulted  stronghold  of  his  will; 

I  do  confess  Thee  here, 
Alive  within  this  life;  I  know  Thee  near 
Within  this  lonely  conscience,  closed  away 
Within  this  brother's  solitary  day. 

Christ  in  his  unknown  heart. 
His  intellect  unknown,  this  love,  this  art. 
This  battle  and  this  peace,  this  destiny 
That  I  shall  never  know,  look  upon  me. 

Christ  in  his  numbered  breath, 
Christ  in  his  beating  heart  and  in  his  death, 
Christ  in  his  mystery  !    From  that  secret  place. 
And  from  that  separate  dwelling,  give  me  grace  1" 

It  surely  must  be  true  that  we  shall  not  see  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ  except  as  we  discern  it  in  each  other's  faces ; 
or,  to  put  it  in  another  way,  without  a  vivid  social  sense 
we  shall  not  descry  all  the  meaning  of  "that  one  Face." 

Second  Week,  Sixth  Day 

And  from  thence  he  arose,  and  went  away  into  the 
borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  And  he  entered  into  a  house, 
and  would  have  no  man  know  it :  and  he  could  not  be  hid. 
— Mark  7 :  34. 

There   are    few  writers   of  any  great   account   in  the 
Christian  era  in  whose  works  we  fail  to  find  material  for 
32 


A  GENERAL  SURyEY  [n-fij 

some  kind  of  estimate  of  Jesus.     Oddly  enough  one  of 
these  exceptions  is  Shakespeare.  ^ 

It  is  a  moot  question  whether  Shakespeare  was  a 
Cathohc  or  a  Protestant-a  case  can  be  made  out  fc? 
either  v.ew;  but  anyhow  his  silence  upon  this  subjec 
requires  some  explanation.  Dean  Stubbs  inclines  to  thi^k 
hat  .t  was  because  the  official  theology  of  Puritan  Eng^ 
and  appears  "to  be  based  on  a  Christianity  from  whkh 

appeared.  This  judgment  upon  early  English  Prot- 
estantism IS  of  course,  open  to  serious  questfon ;  butt 
any  case  the  explanation  seems  hardly  adequat^.  The 
bitterness  of  theological  controversy  certairly  does   not 

7i\ll\T  ''7'  ''""^  J""^'  ^""J  "  '^  not^improbab^ 
hat  the  austere  character  of  the  young  Puritanism  of  the 
time  repelled  the  playwright.  Yet  thfs  does  not"eem  to 
be  the  whole  explanation  of  Shakespeare's  silence  It  has 
been  suggested  that  it  was,  at  least  in  part,  due  to  the  fac 
that  play-acting  was  .n  those  days  in  such  hands  that 
a  reverent  spirit  might  shrink  from  introducing  the  name 
of  Jesus  on  to  the  stage.  If  that  were  so,  the  poefs  sikn« 
speaks  very  plainly.  But  at  least  we  do  know  that  it  was 
neither  Ignorance  nor  neglect  that  caused  his  silence. 
When  he  makes  Portia  say; 

"Earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's 
Wtien  mercy  seasons  justice" 

he  is  expressing  what  we  recognize  to  be  the  central 
principle  of  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  Bu 
stronger  than  the  evidence  of  isolated  passages  is  the 
uniform  witness  of  the  poet  to  the  true  spirit  of  the 
Christian  morahty.  In  his  insistence  upon  "the  divinity 
of  forgiveness,  of  perpetual  mercy,  of  constant  patience 
of  everlasting  gentleness,  the  stainless  purity  of  thought 
^jdmonve,  the  clear-sighted  perception  of  a  soul  of  good- 

•"The  Christ  of   English   Poetry,"  p.    ,j,. 
i3 


[11-7] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


t  'i 


ness  in  things  evil,  the  unfailing  sense  of  the  equal  provi- 
dence of  justice,  the  royalty  of  witness  to  sovereign 
truth,'"  Shakespeare  shows  himself  a  Christian;  and  his 
witness  to  Jesus,  though  more  indirect,  is  no  less  powerful 
than  that  of  others  whose  estimate  is  stated  with  more 
explicitness. 

There  appears  to  be  a  certain  ubiquity  about  the  figure 
of  Jesus;  wheresoever  we  turn,  we  encounter  Him  or 
see  His  footsteps.  There  is  hardly  any  literary  figure  in 
whose  work  He  does  not  soon  or  late  appear.  Not  indeed 
that  He  is  always  welcome;  but  He  is  palpably  a  figure 
to  be  reckoned  with.  No  literature  which  professes  to 
be  true  to  life  can  ignore  Him;  some  account  has  to  be 
taken  of  Him.  He  cannot  be  hid.  His  challenge  seems 
inevasible.  There  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  prominent 
in  English  literary  life  some  years  ago,  who  had  society 
at  his  feet,  commanded  a  large  following,  and  might  have 
established  a  tradition  in  literature  had  not  a  nameless 
sin  destroyed  him.  He  was  sent  to  prison  for  his  crime; 
and  in  prison  he  had  time  to  think.  Presently  he  came  to 
think  about  Jesus,  and  one  of  the  most  tragical  things  in 
literature  is  this  man's  attempt  to  appraise  Jesus.  Yet 
such  as  it  was,  it  had  to  be  done.  "If  I  make  my  bed  in 
hell,  Thou  art  there." 

Second  Week,  Seventh  Day 

When  therefore  it  was  evening,  on  that  day,  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  and  when  the  doors  were  shut  where  the 
disciples  were,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  Jesus  came  and 
stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith  unto  them.  Peace  be  unto 
you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  shewed  unto  them 
his  hands  and  his  side.  The  disciples  therefore  were 
glad,  when  they  saw  the  Lord.  Jesus  therefore  said  to 
them  again.  Peace  be  unto  you:  as  the  Father  hath  sent 
me,  even  so  send  I  you. — John  20:  19-21. 

Naturally,  as  we  have  seen,  individual  judgments  of 

'  "The  Christ  of  English  Poetry,"  p.  ij6. 

34 


A  GENERAL  SURyEY 


[II-7) 


Jesus  are   nflucnced,  both  in  content  and  in  statement,  by 
the  personal  factor;  and  there  is  consequently  an  endless 
variety  in  the  word-vignettes  and  pen-portraits  of  Jesus 
which  we  find  scattered  throughout   literature.     Dostoi- 
evsky, whose  mind  was  colored  by  a  Russian  nationalism 
expressmg  itself  in  the  ideal  of  "a  Christian  peasant  peo- 
ple," and  who  looked  to  Russia  in  lime  to  reveal  its  own 
"Russian  Christ"  to  the  world,  finds  in  Jesus  a  figure  of 
incomparable  and  ultimate  perfection.    "I  believe  there  is 
nothing  lovelier,  deeper,  more  sympathetic  and  more  per- 
fect than  the  Saviour;  I  say  to  myself  with  jealous  love 
that  not  only  is  there  no  one  else  like  Him,  but  that  there 
could  be  no  one.     I  would  say  even  more.     If  any  one 
could  prove  to  me  that  Christ  is  outside  the  truth,  and 
if  the  truth  really  did  exclude  Christ,  I  should  prefer  to 
stay  with  Christ  and  not  with  truth."     "There  is,"  he 
says  elsewhere,  "in  the  world  only  one  figure  of  absolute 
beauty :  Christ.    That  infinitely  lovely  figure  is  as  a  matter 
of  course  an  infinite  marvel."    This  is  plainly  a  judgment 
informed  by  large  mystical  elements.    Mr.  Bernard  Shaw,  I 
who  brings  a  cold  realism  to  his  study  of  Jesus,  sees  a| 
different  picture.     After   Peter's  confession   at   Cssarea  | 
Philippi,  Mr.  Shaw  sees  Jesus  consumed  by  what  appears 
to  him  to  be  a  foolish  passion  for  martyrdom ;  yet  he  says : 
"I  am  no  more  a  Christian  than  Pilate  was,  or  you,  gentle 
reader;  and  yet,  like   Pilate,   I  greatly  prefer  Jesus  to 
Annas  and  Caiaphas ;  and  I  am  ready  to  admit  that,  after 
contemplating  the  world  and  human   nature   for  nearly 
sixty  years,  I  see  no  way  out  of  the  world's  misery  but 
the  way  which  would  have  been  found  by  Christ's  will  if 
he  had  undertaken  the  work  of  a  modern  practical  states-  / 
man."    Mr.  Shaw  denies  with  a  measure  of  justice  that/  Oj/^  ', 
the   characteristic   Christiar    doctrines   were   peculiar   t/  JT     ' 
Christ,  but,  he  adds,  "for  some  reason  the  imagination     >• 
of  white  mankind  has  picked  out  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  //ii?  fj! 
Christ,  and  attributed  all  the  Christian  doctrines  to  him."    rf 
For  some  reason,  observe,   which   Mr.    Shaw  does   not 

35  I 


ill-.] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


specify.    It  might  be  worth  Mr.  Shaw's  while — and  ours 
— to  try  to  discover  that  reason. 

A  company  of  English  literary  men,  including  Charles 
Lamb,  Hazlitt,  Leigh  Hunt,  and  others,  one  day  fell  to 
discussing  persons  they  would  like  to  have  met,  and  after 
naming  every  possible  name  in  the  gallery  of  fame, 
whether  worthy  or  unworthy,  Charles  Lamb  said  in  his 
stuttering  way  to  the  company :  "There  is  only  one  person 
I  can  ever  think  of  after  this.  ...  If  Shakespeare  was  to 
come  into  this  room,  we  should  all  rise  up  to  meet  him; 
but  if  that  Person  was  to  come  into  it  we  should  all  f^U 
and  try  to  kiss  the  hem  of  His  garment."  Why  should 
they?  That  is  the  question  which  somehow  or  another 
must  be  answered.  Even  "when  the  door  was  shut,  Jesus 
came  and  stood  in  the  midst";  !>.id  we  have  to  qj  some- 
thing about  it.  To  help  us  \k  ''.'/e  this  great  variety  of 
impressions  and  judgments  concernint  Him;  and  in  the 
detailed  study  of  some  of  these  we  have  more  to  learn. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

"When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  it  may 
turn  out  that  His  Glory  consists  in  a  suit  of  workingman's 
overalls."    Discuss  this  statement. 

It  might  be  of  interest  if  small  copies  of  the  pictures 
referred  to  in  the  reading  for  this  week  could  be  secured 
and  studied.  Some  of  them  at  least  are  sure  to  be  pro- 
curable at  a  good  art  dealer's  store. 

Consider  some  of  the  passages  in  the  gospels  in  which 
Jesus  is  spoken  of  as  the  "Son  of  Man"  and  test  the 
accuracy  of  the  interpretation  of  the  phrase  given  in  the 
fifth  day's  reading. 

What  do  you  think  is  the  real  point  of  the  "kid"  in  the 
Catacomb  pictures? 


CHAPTER  HI 

The  Poet  of  the  Awakening — 

Dante 

(1265—1321) 

Most  people  would  agree  that  the  world's  three  greatest 
poets  are  Homer,  Dante,  and  Shakespeare.  But  Dante 
differs  from  his  two  great  peers  in  that  he  might  also  be 
included  in  the  category  of  the  world's  greatest  prophets, 
both  Homer  and  Shakespeare  have  a  message  to  men; 
but  they  deliver  it  only  indirectly,  without  meaning  or 
appearing  to  do  so.  But  Dante  has  a  gospel  to  preach 
and  he  never  forgets  it.  It  is  the  proof  of  the  unique 
quality  of  his  poetic  genius  that  not  all  his  preaching 
interferes  with  the  purely  poetic  greatness  of  his  work. 

To  say  that  "The  Divine  Comedy"  was  written  with  a 
moral  purpose  is,  however,  to  make  a  broad  statement 
which  covers  a  complex  of  elements,  each  of  which  has 
to  be  disentangled  from  the  central  mass  and  properly 
appreciated  before  the  huge  and  many-sided  significance 
of  the  poem  can  be  apprehended.  For  one  thing,  Dante 
had  vowed  that  he  would,  when  he  could  discourse 
worthily  concerning  Beatrice— which  skill  he  says  he 
labored  all  he  could  to  attain — write  "concerning  her 
what  hath  not  before  been  written  of  any  woman."  This 
vow  he  discharged  in  "The  Divine  Comedy."  It  is 
Beatrice  who  befriends  and  gfuides  him  in  his  strange 
journey  through  Paradise,  and,  though  in  his  scheme  she 
is  the  personification  of  divine  philosophy,  she  never 
ceases  to  be  that  Beatrice  Portinarj  of  Florence  in  whom 
37 


Illl-I] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


the  flaming  love  of  the  poet  discovered  everythitig  that 
was  lovely  and  pure  and  of  good  report.  So  it  comes 
to  pass  that  "The  Divine  Comedy"  is  the  most  pure  and 
exalted  memorial  of  a  human  love  in  all  literature. 

But  the  poem  is  not  only  a  love  song;  it  is  also  a 
political  tract,  like  some  Old  Testament  prophecies.  Italy, 
as  Dante  saw  it,  was  in  a  state  of  unspeakable  confusion. 
The  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines  were  at  each  other's  throats ; 
and  the  issue  between  the  factions  was  complicated  by  an 
incredible  mass  of  treason  and  corruption,  feud  and  hate. 
Not  only  was  this  internal  trouble  devastating  the  country, 
but  Dante  saw  with  great  misgiving  how  French  princes 
were  watching  their  ppportunity  to  serve  their  own  ends 
at  tha  expense  of  Italy.  The  Church,  moreover,  was 
corrupt;  it  had  allowed  its  spiritual  office  to  be  obscured 
anc'  enfeebled  by  papal  lust  of  temporal  power.  The 
Popes  were  "laying  waste  the  vineyard  for  which  Peter 
and  Paul  died."  They  were  using  their  spiritual  pre- 
rogatives for  material  ends.  But  Dante,  by  the  love  he 
bore  Italy  and  the  Church,  rose  above  this  welter  of 
intrigue  and  corruption,  and,  though  himself  a  Guelph, 
understood  that  there  was  no  hope  for  Italy  except  in  "a 
firm  hand  which  would  repress  the  turbulent  factions 
which  rent  her  bosom."  Out  of  this  grew  the  poet's  hope 
of  a  political  Messiah — a  hope  which  survived  many  a 
bitter  disappointment.  And  Dante  did  not  cease  to  preach 
in  season  and  out  of  season  the  gospel  of  a  spiritual  church 
unfettered  by  temporal  entanglements  and  of  a  united 
Italy  freed  from  feud  within  and  interference  from  with- 
out. Of  this  political  gospel  "The  Divine  Comedy"  was 
the  supreme  expression. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  out  in  more  detail  these 
and  other  elements  which  go  to  make  up  the  extraordinary 
historical  and  human  interest  of  the  poem ;  but  our  present 
purpose  confines  us  to  what  may  seem  a  narrower  inquiry, 
though  in  point  of  fact  our  quest  will  lead  us  to  what  is 
the  central  and  controlling  thought  of  the  whole  book. 
38 


THE  POUT  OF  THE  AWAKENING       |III-i | 

I  The  quotations  in  verse  are  from  Cary's  translation; 
those  in  prose  from  the  translations  in  the  Temple  Classics. 
For  anyone  who  desires  to  study  "The  Divine  Comedy," 
a  useful  introduction  may  he  found  in  P.  H.  Wicksteed's 
"Dante."] 

DAILY  READINGS 

Third  Week,  First  Day 

John  to  the  seven  churches  which  are  in  Asi* :  Orace  to 
you  and  peace,  from  him  which  is  and  which  was  and 
which  ts  to  come;  and  from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are 
before  his  throne;  and  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
faithful  witness,  the  firstborn  of  the  dead,  and  the  ruler 
of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Unto  him  that  loveth  us.  and 
loosed  us  from  our  sins  by  his  blood;  and  he  ma<te  us 
to  be  a  kingdom,  to  be  priests  unto  his  God  and  Father; 
to  him  be  tne  glory  and  the  dominion  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.  Behold,  he  cometh  with  the  clouds;  and  every 
eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  which  pierced  him;  and  all 
the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall  mourn  over  him.  Even 
so.  Amen. 

I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  saith  the  Lord  God, 
which  IS  and  which  was  and  which  is  to  come,  the  Al- 
mighty. 

.  h.  T**¥"'  '""J'".  '>'o*her  and  partaker  with  you  in  the 
tribulation  and  kirt  ("e-n  and  patience  which  are  in  Jesus, 
was  in  the  i.  1 1. 1  i,  -ailed  Patmos,  for  the  word  of 
God  and  the  r .. d  :■  ,  y  o  Jesus.  I  was  in  the  Spirit  on 
the  Lords  day,  ana  i  heard  behind  mi  a  great  voice,  as 
of  a  trumpet  saying.  What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book, 
and  send  it  to  the  seven  churches. — Rev.  1:4-11. 

Dante  was  born  in  Florence  in  1265;  and  he  is  by  far 
the  greatest  figure  we  see  in  the  ruddy  dawn  of  the  human 
mind's  awakening  after  the  torpor  of  the  sterile  mil- 
lennium. His  education  seems  to  have  endowed  him 
with  a  clearness  and  breadth  of  vision  beyond  his  con- 
temporaries. Walter  Bagehot  says  of  Milton  that  he  had 
"an  ascetic  nature  in  a  sheath  of  beauty";  and  this  is 
equally  true  of  Dante.  Austerity  and  a  keen  warm  sense 
of  beauty  were  wedded  in  his  nature  with  a  perfect  con- 
39 


[III-I] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


gruity.  His  pure  love  for  Beatrice  made  his  moral  sense 
a  burning  passion,  and  his  strong  religious  feeling  made 
him  such  a  prophet  as  the  world  had  not  seen  since  John 
the  Baptist  and  Paul  the  Apostle.  In  that  wilderness  of 
feud  and  faction  and  intrigue,  he  lifted  his  voice  not  un- 
certainly and  without  ceasing,  plunging  into  the  political 
vortex  in  which  he  saw  Florence  and  Italy  involved,  in 
the  hope  that  he  might  bring  something  of  order  out  of 
the  confusion.  But  the  enemy  prevailed,  and  in  1300 
Dante  was  banished  from  his  own  fair  city  of  Florence. 
In  the  nineteen  years  that  followed,  he  composed  "The 
Divine  Comedy." 

Three  great  Christian  scriptures  were  composed  during 
enforced  seclusion;  and  they  are  all  records  of  visions. 
From  lonely  Patmos  came  the  Apocalypse ;  from  Bedford 
Jail  came  "The  Pilgrim's  Progress";  and  Dante  produced 
"The  Divine  Comedy"  in  exile. 

The  poem  is  in  three  parts — the  visions  of  Hell,  Purga- 
tory, and  Paradise.  Through  Hell  and  Purgatory  the 
poet  is  guided  by  Virgil,  the  personification  of  human 
philosophy,  while  Beatrice,  the  personification  of  divine 
philosophy,  leads  him  through  the  ascending  cycles  of 
Paradise.  The  poem  is  an  account  of  what  the  poet  saw 
on  this  strange  journey.  Interpolated  here  and  there 
are  philosophical  and  theological  discussions,  which  are 
inserted  with  so  much  skill  that  they  rarely  seem  in- 
congruous. Contemporary  allusions,  which  might  con- 
ceivably have  seemed  inapposite  in  an  imaginative  work 
of  this  character,  nevertheless  take  their  place  quite 
easily.  So  complete  was  Dante's  vision  of  past,  present, 
and  future,  so  deeply  was  he  sensible  of  the  intimate  rela- 
tions of  the  material  and  spiritual  worlds,  so  vast  and  so 
exceedingly  exact  was  his  survey  of  the  sweep  of  the 
moral  order,  so  profound  his  insight  into  human  history 
and  his  reading  of  human  life,  that  he  was  able  to  weld 
into  one  organic  whole  all  the  facts  of  his  knowledge  and 
experience,  the  conclusions  of  his  philosophy  and  his 
40 


THE  POET  OF  THE  AWAKENING        [111-2] 

theology.  So  true  was  his  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things 
so  keen  was  hi  .netration  through  the  form  to  the  abid- 
ing reality,  thai  his  poem  has  never  lost  its  bloom  and 
the  freshness  of  its  youth.  It  still  remains,  in  spite  of 
much  that  was  purely  local  and  temporary  in  its  reference, 
a  human  document  of  universal  and  inexhaustible  &\e- 
nificance. 

Third  Week,  Second  Day 

«*^f^*^ /■*"''  !S?*°  t™  '=':'"*"'°  °f  *e  Pharisees  and 
of  the  Herodians,  that  they  might  catch  him  in  talk.  And 
when  they  were  come,  they  say  unto  him.  Master,  we 
know  that  thou  art  true,  and  carest  not  for  ^y\a<f 
lllJtf^  "gardest  not  the  person  of  men.  but  of  a  truth 
teachest  the  way  of  God:  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute 
?f?.ViF*1!5'  °^  "°*L  .^''?"  *«  8ive,  or  shall  we  not  give? 
But  he,  knowing  their  hypocrisy,  said  unto  them.  Why 
tempt  ye  me?  brmg  me  a  penny,  that  I  may  see  it.  And 
they  brought  it.  And  he  saith  unto  them.  Whose  is  this 
^.1t-'°^  A'"i'"T""P*'°".'.  ^^  ^^y  "id  wnto  him, 
rf !f ^  ;i.  ^S!^  J**i?*  said  unto  them.  Sender  unto 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the 

w™*"*?"!"*  °°^'-  ^^  *»«y  marvelled  greatly  at 
mm.— Mark  13:13-17.  ' 

We  shall  not  understand  Dante's  way  of  looking  at 
things  unless  we  remember  at  what  point  of  time  he  ap- 
peared. He  is,  as  has  already  been  said,  the  outstanding 
figure  in  a  period  of  transition,  a  period  heralding  an- 
other, the  importance  of  which  is  second  only  to  the  com- 
ing of  Jesus.  It  may  rightly  be  regarded,  in  the  words 
of  one  of  his  commentators,  as  "the  great  morning  star 
of  modern  enlightenment."  But  Dante,  like  all  other 
persons  who  have  stood  in  similar  places,  was  in  a  very 
real  sense  a  product  of  the  past  as  well  as  a  herald  of  the 
future.  During  that  dreary  period  which  had  lasted  for 
nearly  a  thousand  years  before  Dante's  time,  there  had 
been  flowing  a  stream  of  true  piety.  This  piety  naturally 
took  Its  color  from  the  prevailing  Catholic  idea,  the 
growth  of  which  Is  the  chief  external  faci  of  church 
4« 


[III-2] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


history  during  that  period,  h  had,  however,  no  affinity 
with  the  passion  then  prevalent  at  Rome  to  acquire 
authority  of  a  temporal  character.  When  Rome  had  been 
sacked  by  the  Huns  and  Goths,  what  was  of  value  in  its 
spirit  and  its  institutions  was  preserved  by  the  Church. 
Unfortunately  for  the  Church,  it  had  been  seized  with 
the  craving  for  temporal  power,  and  this  craving  suffered 
no  abatement  with  the  passing  of  time.  But  there  were 
those  who  looked  suspiciously  upon  this  development  and 
regarded  it  as  an  evil  and  alien  thing,  and  it  was  to  this 
suacession  that  Dante  belonged.  The  empire  of  the 
Church  was  in  his  view  wholly  and  exclusively  spiritual; 
and  when  it  entered  the  political  field,  it  was  going  out  of 
its  own  province.  To  use  its  power  to  gain  secular 
authority  was  to  pl-ostitute  it,  to  render  to  Caesar  what 
was  God's.  Caesar  had  his  own  place  and  his  own  busi- 
ness ;  but  that  was  not  in  the  Church. 
Rome,  said  Dante, 

"Was  wont  to  boast  two  suns,  whose  several  beams 
Cast  light  on  either  way,  the  world's  and  God's. 
One  since  hath  quenched  the  other ;  and  the  sword 
Is  grafted  on  the  crook;  and  so  conjoined 
Each  must  perforce  decline  to  worse." 


Dante  held  to  the  doctrine  of  the  "two  societies";  and 
it  is  this  doctrine  which  is  reflected  in  the  passage  just 
quoted.  This  doctrine  was  that  there  were  in  the  world 
two  societies — the  temporal,  of  which  the  Emperor  was 
head,  and  the  spiritual,  of  which  the  Pope  was  head,  each 
independent  and  sovereign  within  its  own  sphere.  It  ap- 
peared to  Dante  that  it  was  "as  monstrous  for  the  Pope 
to  seek  political  influence  and  to  use  his  spiritual  forces 
for  political  ends  as  he  would  have  judged  it  for  the 
Emperor  to  exercise  political  tyranny  over  the  faith  of 
Christians.'" 


1  Wicksteed,  "Dante,"  p.   17. 


THE  POET  OF  THE  AWAKENING       [III.3] 
Third  Week,  Third  Day 

scended  is  the  same  al.o'^that  ascended  far  above  .11  th." 
heavens,  that  he  might  lUl  all  things.)    And  he  gave  ioSe 

What  is  the  Catholic  idea?  Froude  has  put  it  in  this 
way:  "At  ast  He  (that  is,  Jesus)  passed  away  to  heaven 
but  while  m  heaven  He  was  still  on  the  earth  HisS 
became  the  body  of  His  church,  not  in  metaphor  buV  in 
fact-this  veiy  material  body  in  which  and  by  which  the 
aithful  would  be  saved.  His  flesh  and  blood  were  thence- 
forward to  be  their  food.  ...  As  they  fed  on  it.  it  would 
grow  mto  them  and  it  would  become  their  real  bodv  " 
This  confusion  of  natural  and  spiritual  is  bewilderine 
to  a  Protestant  mind;  but  if  Catholicism  has  insisted  over- 
m"ch  upon  the  connection  of  spirit  and  matter  it  is 
probable  that  Protestantism  has  underestimated  its  im- 
portance. Certainly  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  as  the 
material  body  of  Christ  is  foreign  and  unintelligible  to 
the  Protestant:  and  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation 
requires  an  act  of  faith  of  which  a  person  of  Protestant 
43 


(in-3] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


background  is  rarely  capable.  Yet  when  we  have  made 
the  necessary  allowance  for  the  excess  of  emphasis  upon 
the  material  form,  there  is  a  truth  in  the  Catholic  idea 
which  Protestants  cannot  afford  to  neglect. 

St.  Paul  uses  the  word  ecclesia  in  two  different  but  re- 
lated senses.  He  applies  it  first  of  all  to  separatf  .om- 
munities  of  believers;  the  second  use  is  wider.  It  does 
not  refer  to  the  Church  as  the  aggregate  of  the  local 
communities,  or  an  ideal  society  not  yet  realized  on  the 
earth.  It  is  neither  so  concrete  as  the  one  nor  so  abstract 
as  the  other.  What  the  word  in  this  large  sense  is  in- 
tended to  cover,  it  is  difficult  to  define  precisely.  It  was 
something  which  existed  in  and  subsumed  each  separate 
community— tl  c  underlying  life,  of  which  the  local  society 
was  a  distinct  id  individual  embodiment.  And  this  un- 
derlying life  was  the  historical  continuation  of  the  life 
of  Jesus.  This  life  entered  into  the  Christian  societies; 
and  as  once  Christ  had  become  incarnate  in  a  body  of 
flesh,  so  He  was  incarnated  afresh  in  a  body  of  believers. 
The  Church  is  His  body.  But  there  is  no  warrant  for 
identifying  this  body  with  a  particular  society.  That  is 
the  Roman  error.  The  body  of  Christ  is  the  body  of  all 
true  believers ;  and  that  is  the  true  Catholic  idea. 

But  the  Church  was  to  Dante  something  more  than  a 
society  or  a  corporation  of  which  he  could  give  a  theo- 
logical account.    It  was  a  "lovely  flower," 

"The  fair  bride  who  with  the  lance  and  nails 
Was  won." 

His  heart  went  out  to  it  with  a  passionate  intensity.  In 
it  were  involved  the  hopes  of  a  race ;  through  it  the  great 
increasing  purpose  was  destined  to  be  accomplished.  When 
he  saw  it  prostituted  to  meaner  ends,  his  soul  was  aflame 
with  indignation.  At  a  time  vhen  the  superficiality  and 
the  trifling  of  its  ministers  were  obscuring  its  supreme 
oflices,  he  cried: 


THE  POET  OF  THE  AWAKENING       [III.4] 

"Christ  said  not  to  his  first  conventicle, 
'Go  forth  and  preach  impostures  to  the  world' 
But  gave  them  truth  to  build  on,  ard  the  sound 
Was  mighty  on  their  lips;  nor  needed  they 
Beside  the  Gospel  other  spear  or  shield 
To  aid  them  in  their  warfare  for  the  faith." 

The  business  of  the  Church  was  to  kindle  faith  by  pro- 
claiming the  Gospel.  The  sacraments  do  not  take  the  first 
place  in  Dante's  view,  as  they  do  in  traditional  Catholi- 
cism. 

Third  Week,  Fourth  Day 

For  not  unto  angels  did  he  subject  the  world  to  come, 
whereof  we  speak.  But  one  hath  somewhere  testified, 
saying,  ^ 

What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him? 

Or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him? 

Thou  madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels : 

Thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honour. 

And  didst  set  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands: 

Thou  didst  put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet. 

For  in  that  he  subjected  all  things  unto  him,  he  left 
nothing  that  is  not  subject  to  him.  But  now  we  see  not 
yet  all  things  subjected  to  him.  But  we  behold  him  who 
hath  been  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  even  Jesus, 
because  of  the  suffering  of  death  crowned  with  glory 
and  honour,  that  by  the  grace  of  God  he  should  taste 
death  for  every  man.  For  it  became  him,  for  whom  are 
all  things,  and  through  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing 
many  sons  unto  glory,  tc  make  the  author  of  their  salva- 
tion perfect  through  sufferings.  For  both  he  that  sancti- 
fieth  and  they  that  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one:  for 
which  cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren, 
saying,  ^ 

I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren. 

In  the  midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  sing  thy  praise. 

And  again,  I  will  put  my  trust  in  him.  And  again.  Behold. 
I  and  the  children  which  God  hath  given  me.— Heb.  a: 
S-13. 

45 


ini-4) 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


The  promise  of  Jesus  to  be  with  His  own  to  the  end 
of  the  world  was  taken  by  medieval  Catholicism  to  mean 
that  He  would  be  and  was  represented  by  the  Church.  The 
gift  of  Pentecost  made  the  Church  the  representative  and 
the  agent,  and  its  head  the  vicar,  of  Christ  on  earth.  His 
personal  presence  as  a  direct  influence  in  the  Church  and 
the  world  was  prominent  only  in  the  minds  of  mystically 
disposed  persons;  it  played  little  part  in  the  official  view. 
It  was  almost  inevitable,  therefore,  that  Dante  should 
place  his  vision  of  Christ  in  the  third  part  of  his  poem, 
his  ascent  through  Paradise;  and  there  he  sees  Him  as 
the  central  glory  of  the  army  of  the  redeemed. 

The  ruling  idea  ^n  Dante's  conception  of  Christ  is  His 
character  as  redeemer.  He  thinks  of  Him  as  "Christ,  son 
of  the  supreme  God  and  son  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  very  man, 
who  was  slain  by  us  to  bring  life,  who  was  the  light  which 
enlightens  us  in  darkness.'"  And  the  emphasis  upon  the 
redeeming  quality  of  the  death  of  Christ  is  a  constant 
element  in  Dante's  view  of  Jesus.  It  was  to  this  end  that 
He  became  incarnate— "the  Son  of  God  willed  to  load 
Himself  with  our  pain."  He  fully  accomplished  His  pur- 
pose. He  appeared  in  Hell,  preaching  to  the  spirits  in 
prison, 

"A  puissant  one. 
With  victorious  trophy  crowned." 

This  victory  was  won  on  the  "tree,"  whither 

"Christ  was  led 
To  call  on  Eli,  joyfu!..  when  He  paid 
Our  ransom  from  His  vein." 

The  memory  of  our  Lord's  death  remains  on  earth  as  the 
great  motive  of  love  to  God,  while  in  Paradise  it  has  given 
Him  a  name  which  is  above  every  name.  Dante  sees  the 
hosts  of  Christ's  triumph — 

•This  MMagc  is  not  from  "The  Divine  Comedy."  but  from  a  prow 
work  called  "Convito"  (The  Banquet)  Chap.  VI. 


THE  POET  OF  THE  AWAKENING       [III.5] 

"Jr.  '"■'Sht  preeminence  so  saw  I  there 

0  er  million  lamps  a  sun,  from  whom  all  drew 

1  heir  radiance,  as  from  ours  the  starry  train- 
And  through  the  living  light,  so  lustrous  glowed 
I  he  substance  that  my  ken  endured  it  not''; 

and  in  another  place — 

"In  fashion  as  a  snow-white  rose  lay  then 
«fu?'i5  ""^  ^''*  "■*  saintly  multitude 
Which  in  His  own  blood  Christ  espoused." 

This  is  the  setting  in  which  Dante  places  Christ— far 
above  all  the  principalities  and  powers  and  every  name 
that  is  named;  yet  while  this  shows  how  wonderful  Christ 
appeared  to  Dante,  it  carried  with  it  a  grave  defect  It 
had  the  result  of  removing  Christ  out  of  real  touch  with 
the  actual  hfe  of  men. 

Third  Week,  Fifth  Day 

Having  then  a  great  high  priest,  who  hath  Daued 
through  the  heavens.  Jesus  the  Son  if  God,  let  uphold 
fast  our  confession,    for  we  have  not  a  high  priest  that 

SrftatVXt"*  '^'*''  Jl"  *?«""«  "'  our  inM ties;  b« 
one  that  hath  been  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  wVare 
yet  without  sin.  Let  us  therefore  dfaw  nea?  with  hold' 
nes.  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  "cefve  me«y 
jnd^may  find  grace  to  help  u.  in  time  Vf  "eel  "Heb.' 

v^V'^x^v^  '°»f  '*"=  °'^'"*  Coramedia"  says  Sir 
Wyke  Bayliss,  alluding  to  the  last  passage  quoted,  "is 
the  great  compuny  of  the  redeemed,  the  petals  are  in- 
dividual behevers.  And  as  a  rose,  even  a  white  rose, 
deepens  in  colour  towards  the  heart  of  it,  so  the  wide  circle 
of  this  saintly  host  as  they  approach  the  center  becomes 
incarnadine  with  the  very  life-blood  of  Christ." 

Of  the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  the  redeemed 
Uante  confesses  himself  unable  to  give  an  adequate  ac- 
count; but  he  says  that  those  who  will  themselves  set  that 
47 


Iin-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


glory  will  understand  the  reason.  The  quadrant  in  Mars 
"so  flashed  forth  Christ  that  I  may  not  find  example 
worthy."  "^ 

"^".*  *''°*°  **''**  *•'*  "°^^  *"«*  follows  Christ 
Will  pardon  me  for  that  I  leave  untold 
When  in  the  fleckered  dawning,  he  shall  spy 
The  ghtterance  of  Christ." 

Observe  that  here  the  terms  of  seeing  the  glory  of  Christ 
are  the  taking  of  the  cross,  and  following  Christ.  This 
is,  of  course,  good  evangelical  teaching. 

But  Dante  was  so  steeped  in  the  notions  of  medieval 
Catholicism  that  he  does  not  think  the  vision  possible 
unless  it  be  mediated  through  the  Virgin  Mary. 

"Now  raise  thy  view 
Unto  the  visage  most  resembling  Christ, 
For  in  her  splendour  only  shalt  thou  win 
The  power  to  look  on  Him." 

The  place  of  Mary  in  the  Catholic  schem-  owes  its 
origm  probably  to  several  circumstances.  It  represents 
the  survival  of  a  pagan  tradition,  which  was  gathered  up 
into  Christianity  probably  in  Asia  Minor.  But  this  does 
not  mean  that  it  does  not  correspond  to  a  real  human 
need.  The  frequency  with  which  the  Madonna  was 
painted  and  the  place  she  Came  to  occupy  in  Catholic 
devotion  prove  that  some  human  craving  was  being  met 
This  was  in  part  the  absence  from  the  current  conception 
of  God  of  the  quality  usually  attributed  to  motherhood- 
and  this  is  certainly  an  element  in  a  complete  view  of 
Cod.  For  fatherhood  and  motherhood  are  complementary 
and  are  fulfilled  in  each  other;  and  they  must  be  found 
together  in  the  ultimate  source  of  life.  But  probably  the 
greatest  reason  for  the  popular  devotion  to  Mary  lay  in 
the  distance  which  had  been  placed  between  Christ  and 
the  soul. 

The  tendency  of  the  Church  has  been  on  the  whole  to 
48 


TtJE  POET  OF  THE  AWAKENING       niLg] 

and  true  man;  and  DanVe  exprSse  thi,  *'"  ^"^  '^°'* 
He  sees  the  dual  nature  of  Telusnth  ""'«  "=°"**^'""y- 
griffin  in  the  eyes  of  Beat  ice'  Y«?>.  '*''""°"  °^  ">« 
that  He  dwelt  in         ""'"«•     Y"  there  was  a  feeling 

"Heavens  too  high  for  our  aspiring  " 
.^"'nlSrVra^ot  wL'^XT  t  '^^  ^""'''  «"--" 

3^£er^"-"^--"--"h?s 

''^Krr^^-o:^^c:^-^.,pd. 

and  that  is  even  now 

"beating  hot  with  love  of  me  "• 

Church   has  exated  ChrU       ^a'"^  ""=  '''""^''t  of  the 


Third  Week,  Sixth  Day 


But 


betag  witae«KX"YaVL^°?h''"''  ''l'"  manifested, 
r|ghteo„„„,  of  d^d  through  faith  in''T?''"'A«r«n  the 
all  them  that  believe-  for  «.-,-•  '"  J*??*  Christ  unto 

j^^^fe  •,«-?«>.  »|fth  'sS;r?oTth'.'  Ji° JLn*?f i'-j  fo' 


-"  uacin  uiat  believe-  fni-  n.— »  •  —  ^  .."  ^'"^'st  unto 
«U  have  sinned.  Md  fail  shor?« J V*  "J"  "^"ttaction:  for 
justified  freely'b^his  irl^e  th?ou«h  fi"'''  2*  ^'^■'  ^eing 
•»  m  Christ  Jesus- whMGn?^^*r^  '.•  '■exemption  that 
tion,  througfi  fai?h.  by  his  blooS  to"?  *°  ^«  «  Propitia- 

:!!!!:^.-.e  of  thi  ^X'oTet  o*f%'hVri.li"ao'^''& 

49 


IIII-6] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


time,  in  the  forbMrance  o{  Ood;  for  the  thewinc,  I  Mjr, 
of  hli  righteouineH  at  this  present  leaion:  thmt  he  might 
bimeelf  oe  Jutt,  end  the  juitifier  of  him  that  hath  faith 
in  Jeioa. — Rom.  3:31-36. 

The  main  concern  of  "The  Divine  Comedy"  is  with 
the  vast  and  perplexing  problem  of  sin.  Christian  the- 
ology has  always  regarded  the  fact  of  sin  as  the  starting 
point  of  all  doctrinal  discussion ;  and  Dante  states  the  case 
in  all  its  bearings  as  he  sees  it. 

In  the  "Inferno"  he  shows  the  nature  and  consequences 
of  sin.  "The  wages  of  sin  is  death"  and  this  living  death 
descends  in  cycle  below  cycle  to  ever  more  unspeakable 
depths  of  utter  ruin. 

The  "Purgatorio"  begins  to  proclaim  a  message  of  grace 
and  hope.  Repented  and  renounced  sin  is  seen  bearing  the 
full  measure  of  its  consequences — no  longer  as  a  punish- 
ment, however,  but  as  a  discipline.  The  doctrine  of  the 
intermediate  state  is  one  upon  which  Scripture  gives  us 
no  certain  light;  but  the  other  element  in  the  thought  of 
Purgatory  is,  of  course,  one  of  the  commonplaces  of  ex- 
perience. The  sins  we  commit  against  God  may  be  for- 
given, but  the  "deeds  done  in  the  body"  follow  us.  Their 
significance  is,  however,  changed  by  our  repentance.  In 
the  "Inferno"  they  are  a  punishment ;  in  the  "Purgatorio" 
they  constitute  a  process  of  chastening,  by  which  the  sin- 
ful disposition  is  eradicated  and  perfect  holiness  and  fit- 
ness for  Paradise  attained. 

Yet  this,  says  our  poet,  is  possible  only  on  the  ground 
of  Christ's  sacrifice.  That  which  cleanses  from  all  sin 
is  the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  so  when  a  soul 
is_  exalted  into  Paradise,  it  i'  another  witness  to  the 
triumph  of  redeeming  love.  Da...e  sees  Christ  surrounded 
by  a  countless  multitude  of  such  souls,  the  petals  of  the 
white  rose,  each  a  seal  of  his  victory.  The  unspeakable 
glory  of  the  triumphant  Redeemer  is  Dante's  contribution 
to  our  thought  of  Christ.  But  the  glory  is  the  conse- 
quence of  the  humiliation.  Paradise  stands  on  Calvary. 
SO 


THE  POET  OF  THE  AWAKENING       [III.7J 

It  is  a  thought  of  some  pertinence  to  us  today  whether 
we  do  not  need  to  recover  something  of  Danteriark 
moral  reahsm.  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  some  time  before  the 
War  told  us  that  "the  higher  man  of  today'!  d  d  not"  1  ?! 
about  h.s  sms  but  now  after  the  War,  when  we  have 
seen  the  awful  certainty  and  scale  of  the  retrlSutTon  tha! 
follows  a  breach  of  the  moral  order,  it  is  inconceivable  ha 
we  shall  not  once  more  take  the  fact  of  sin  more  seriousfy 
than  we  have  done  m  the  past.  If  this  is  a  moral  unilerse 
.f  «s  ground  plan  is  a  righteousness  in  which  there  is  no 

InddV'.^H-''  "",1°"  °^  '"^"'"«'  "-«"  indeed  obed  nee 
and  disobedience  become  matters  of  life  and  death.    It  is 

?f°we  d"i:nr''r  f7  °*  ?,"'  '*""'''"^  "  '"'''y  '°  be  sound 
If  we  do  not  start  from  Dante's  assumption  that  there  is 

order'  L^d  '^^  ^  »""="  ""'  "*''°"'-  "  """^^  ""'imate  mori! 
followed  h„^  transgression  of  this  order  is  inevitably 
followed  by  due  recompense  of  reward.  Certainly  we 
shall  miss  much  m  our  thought  of  Jesus  if  we  fail  to 
approach  Him  in  this  spirit  of  moral  realism. 

Third  Week,  Seventh  Day 

Then  Mid  Jesui  unto  hii  diiciplei.  If  anv  n»n  -«..i^ 
«o".:  '/^rf",?'  '«'  "im  deny  hiS„"if."ai3^.k^up  hU 
We  .h.n  I<,«"?»T  "5-  ?"  whosoever  would  ,.vS  h U 
mv  Mka  .h^li  1;*^  "i"*  'r''°»°'»««'  'hall  lose  his  life  for 
^'hi^Tif.ii  ■"•  ^t  "•  J^."  "'»'  'hall  a  man  be  profited 

Te :24.a6         "■"  *"«  '"  "Change  for  hi.  HfeJ-Matt 

The  foundation  of  the  whole  process  by  which  a  sinful 

"■/l//'""-?'  ".J"'"'  "}  '^  '°'^  ''-°"  'he  human  side 

Zttv     ^        ■  "^l'"'     '''y^  °^"'«'  ""«^er  rose  one 
who  believed  not  in  Christ." 

an^,rl  nf"*    r  °f ''"'  "j"'^  "^^^  something  more  than 
an  act  of  emotional  surrender.    Evangelicalism  has  tended 

taith,  the  whole  man  is  engaged,  in  every  part  of  him. 
SJ 


(111-7) 


THAT  ONE  PACE 


Faith,  according  to  Dr.  Du  Bose,  U  "the  entire  disposition 
of  our  entire  selves  God-ward,  holiness-ward."  In  any 
case,  whatever  else  it  may  be,  faith  involves  •  definite 
moral  decision;  and  it  certainly  contained  that  in  Dants's 
view  of  it. 

In  the  third  canto  of  the  "Inferno,"  our  poet  tells  ut 
how  he  is  overwhelmed  by  dismal  sounds  as  he  ente-. .  the 
gate  of  Hell.  These  •■■"^nds,  Virgil  informs  him,  come 
from  people  whom  neither  Heaven  nor  Hell  will  receive. 

"This  miserable  mode  the  dreary  souls  of  those  sustain, 
who  lived  without  blame  and  without  praise ; 

They  are  mixed  with  th?t  caitiff  choir  of  the  angels 
WmO  were  not  rebellio'-t  nor  were  faithful  to  God;  out 
were  for  themselves; 

Heaven  chased  tliem  forth  to  keep  its  beauty  from 
impaii ;  ana  th.  Jeep  Hell  received  them  not,  for  the 
wicked  would  hi.ve  some  glory  over  them." 

These  luckless  people,  who  "have  no  hope  of  death, 
whose  blind  life  is  so  mean  that  they  are  envious  of  every 
other  let,"  are  just  those  who  sat  on  the  fence  and  did 
not  make  the  decisive  moral  surrender  which  gives  ooint 
and  meaning  to  life.  They  could  not  die,  becau;  they 
had  never  lived. 

So  we  may  fairly  infer  that  faith  in  Dante's  view  is 
in  the  first  instance  not  emotional,  as  the  evangelical  is  apt 
to  conceive  of  it,  nor  intellectual,  as  the  oflicial  Catholic 
view  appears  to  regard  it,  but  an  act  of  moral  decision. 
It  is  the  movement  of  the  will  toward  the  Will  of  God. 
Human  faith  in  divine  love — this  is  the  pivot  of  the  Gospel 
as  Dante  saw  it ;  and  this  is  the  way  by  which  men  come 
to  be  planted  in  "the  fair  garden  which  flowereth  be- 
neath the  rays  of  Christ." 

The  real  message  of  Dante  to  us  today  is  the  need  of 
recovering  a  plain  and  forthright  ethical  outlook  upon 
the  world  and  all  that  is  in  it,  and  an  ethical  approach  to 
Jesus.    Whether  we,  following  Dante's  road,  shall  see  the 


THE  PORT  OF  THE  AWAKENING       [IH-s] 

precise  vision  he  saw,  is  of  course  another  question.  We 
have  a  different  inheritance;  but  we  may  be  quite  sure 
that  the  road  does  lea '  to  a  vision.  To  take  up  the  Cross 
and  to  follow  Christ  is  the  passport  into  His  presence. 

SU00E8TI0NS  FOR  THOUGHT  ANO  DISCUSSION 

"Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  What  light  does  this 
cast  upon  the  nature  of  the  Church?  Compare  it  with 
the  Catholic  idea. 

Collect  the  references  in  the  New  Testament  to  the 
Church  a.s  "the  body  of  Christ"  and  "the  bride  of  Christ," 
and  discuss  what  each  figure  means. 

Do  you  think  that  a  recovery  of  the  sense  of  sin  is 
essential  to  a  true  understanding  of  Jesus? 

How  far  do  you  suppose  that  Dante's  division  of  the 
after-world  into  Hell,  Purgatory,  and  Heaven  is  true? 
Is  there  any  warrant  for  it  in  Scripture?  How  does  it 
bear  upon  Omar  Khayyam's  saying,  "I  myself  am  heaven 
and  hell"? 


S3 


CHAPTER  IV 


The  Poet  as  Reformer — Shelley 

(1792—1822) 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  Dante  to  Shelley.  Nor  is  it  only 
the  distance  of  time  which  separates  them:  they  differ 
profoundly  from  one  another  in  their  inherited  back- 
ground, in  education,  and  in  temperament.  Moreover 
Dante,  in  spite  of  his  independence  of  mind,  was  a  devout 
believer;  Shelley,  on  the  other  hand,  professed  to  be  an 
atheist. 

It  may  seem  a  somewhat  unpromising  adventure  to  in- 
quire of  an  atheist  concerning  Jesus.  But  two  things 
may  be  said  upon  this  point: 

First,  it  is  not  merely  interesting  but  important  for  our 
purpose  to  find  out  how  Jesus  would  strike  an  atheist, 
a  person  who  had  deliberately  thrown  overboard  all  the 
beliefs  in  which  he  had  been  reared.  This  is,  indeed,  as 
near  as  we  can  get  to  such  a  picture  of  Jesus  as  would 
be  impressed  upon  a  virgin  mind,  and  inasmuch  as  Shelley 
did  not  have  "a  grievance  against  Jesus,"  as  some  skeptical 
and  unorthodox  people  are  sometimes  alleged  to  have,  we 
ought  to  discover  some  material  of  value  in  his  estimate 
of  Jesus. 

Second,  it  is  really  very  questionable  how  far  Shelley 
was  what  we  nowadays  would  call  an  atheist.  In  his  day 
any  man  who  repudiated  the  orthodox  tradition  might 
have  been  called  and  might  even  call  himself  an  atheist. 
To  deny  the  commonly  accepted  idea  of  God  is  not  neces- 
sarily to  deny  God.  Indeed,  the  question  may  be  fairly 
raised  whether  a  poet  can  be  an  atheist  at  all.    Certainly, 

54 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER 


[IV-i] 


he  cannot  be  a  pure  rationalist  or  a  pure  materialist.  It 
is  the  distinction  of  the  poet  that  his  very  work  is,  so  far 
as  it  goes,  a  spiritual  interpretation  of  life;  and  this  pre- 
supposes some  kind  and  some  measure  of  faith,  that  is, 
of  belief  in  unseen  reality.  He  may  not  give  this  unseen 
reality  the  name  of  God,  but  that  does  not  matter  so  much 
as  his  assumption  that  there  is  an  unseen  reality. 

Now,  no  one  who  is  acquainted  with  Shelley's  work 
can  wholly  accept  his  own  description  of  himself  as  an 
atheist.  He  was,  it  is  true,  in  open  and  vehement:  revolt 
against  the  orthodoxy  of  his  time;  he  was  frankly  con- 
temptuous of  tradition.  But  it  is  quite  plain  to  the  care- 
ful student  of  Shelley  that  his  mind  was  steadily  moving 
onward  to  something  like  a  real  faith.  He  died  when  he 
was  only  thirty  years  of  age ;  ha..!  !.e  lived  another  thirty 
years,  who  knows  whither  his  restless  mind  might  not 
have  led  him?  Inviting  as  such  a  speculation  is,  we 
must  not  here  enter  upon  it.  What  we  do  know  is  that 
there  is  a  discernible  enlargement  of  view  concerning 
man  and  life  and  the  ultimate  realities  in  Shelley's  later 
thought,  and  that  this  development  comes  to  an  abrupt 
end.  What  might  have  been  can  never  be  written ;  but  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  record  Browning's  opinion:  "I 
shall  say  what  I  think ;  had  Shelley  lived,  he  woulf!  finally 
have  ranged  himself  with  the  Christians  1" 


DAILY  KEADINOS 
Fourth  Week,  First  Day 

Then  saith  Jesus  unto  them,  All  ye  shall  be  offended 
in  me  this  night:  for  it  is  written,  I  will  smite  the  shep- 
herd, and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  shall  be  scattered  abroad. 
But  after  I  am  raised  up,  I  will  go  before  you  into 
Qalilce.  But  Peter  answered  and  said  unto  him,  If  all 
shall  be  offended  in  thee,  I  will  never  be  offended.  Jesus 
said  unto  him.  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  this  night, 
before  the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.  Peter 
saith  unto  him.  Even  if  I  must  die  with  thee,  yet  will 

55 


[IV-i] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


I  not  deny  thee.    Likewise  also  said  all  the  disciples. — 
Matt.  36:3i-3S- 

Shelley  was  peculiarly  constituted.  He  had  much  more 
than  the  average  endowment  of  natural  human  insubordi- 
nation. His  chief  characteristic  appears  to  have  been  an 
instinctive  hatred  of  restraint;  he  was  essentially  a  crea- 
ture of  impulse.  "Shelley,"  says  one  of  his  critics,  "was 
probably  the  most  remarkable  instance  of  a  purely  im- 
pulsive character."  The  conduct  of  most  men  is  governed 
chiefly  by  impulse;  but  we  recognize  that  impulse  should 
be  subject  to  the  discipline  of  reason  and  conscience. 
Shelley's  impulses,  however,  were  but  indifferently  re- 
strained; and  when  an  impulse  is  aroused  to  movement 
in  such  a  personality,  "it  cramps  the  intellect,  it  pushes 
aside  the  faculties,  it  constrains  the  nature,  it  bolts  for- 
ward into  action." 

But  in  the  case  of  most  men  of  impulse,  tliere  is  a 
certain  inevitable  inconsistency  which  arises  from  the 
number  and  variety  of  impulses  which  are  latent  in 
human  nature.  On  the  other  hand,  the  man  of  impulse 
may  be  a  man  of  one  idea;  and  his  impulses  may  all 
emanate  from  a  single  universe  of  thought.  The  result 
is  that  such  a  man  will  possess  a  character  of  some  con- 
sistency and  strength.  Having  a  common  origin  in  a 
single  supreme  passion,  his  impulses  will  naturally  have 
also  a  common  direction.  This  was  the  case  with  our 
poet.  The  supreme  passion  of  Shelley  was  for  reforming 
mankind;  and  it  was  from  this  spring  that  his  impulses 
habitually  proceeded.' 

It  is  clear  that,  admirable  as  such  a  character  may  be, 
it  lacks  the  balance  necessary  to  accomplish  results  pro- 
portionate to  the  energy  which  it  expends.    There  is  al- 

■We  are  now  concerned,  of  courie,  only  with  Shelle/l  nature  M 
it  has  affected  his  literary  work.  If  we  were  engapd  m  a  complett 
analysis  ol  Shelley,  we  should  have  to  note  such  'tii"!?!.  .,.i.l?  «rrt 
sensitiveness  which  sent  him  on  sudden  and  inexplicable  travela,  first 
all  over  Great  Britain  and  afterwards  on  the  continent  of  turope, 
and  aecounu  largely  for  his  vagrant  and  itonny  life. 

56 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER 


[IV-2I 


ways  a  wide  margin  of  distortion  and  exaggeration,  both 
in  word  and  in  deed,  which  is  sheer  waste  of  power.  One 
of  the  first  conditions  of  substantial  and  effective  service 
in  reform  is  a  patient  study  of  all  the  relevant  facts.  From 
things  as  they  are  to  things  as  they  should  be  is  a  journey 
which  no  man  can  help  the  race  to  accomplish  who  does 
not  quite  frankly  face  the  things  that  are  just  as  they  are. 
No  strong  language,  no  volume  of  emphatic  statements, 
can  make  up  for  this  elementary  defect.  It  was  at  this 
point  that  Shelley  failed.  He  had  the  type  of  mind  that 
runs  instinctively  to  generalizations.  He  had  none  of  the 
patience  which  seeks  out  diligently  the  data  necessary  to 
reform  or  to  sound  judgment.  This  gave  him  something 
of  the  character  of  a  firebrand;  and  firebrands  are  apt 
to  give  out  more  smoke  than  light.  At  the  same  time  it 
must  be  remembered  that  Shelley's  exaggerations  and 
distortions  are  due  to  a  quick  sympathy  with  the  suffering 
and  the  oppressed  and  ^  hot  passion  for  liberty.  "It  was," 
says  Professor  Dowden,  "the  sufferings  of  the  industrious 
poor  that  specially  claimed  his  sympathy ;  and  he  thought 
of  publishing  for  them  a  series  of  popular  songs  which 
should  inspire  them  with  heart  and  hope."  These  songs 
appeared  after  Shelley's  death ;  and,  like  other  of  his 
songs,  they  were  wrung  out  of  him  by  his  poignant  sense 
of  "man's  inhumanity  to  man." 

Fourth  Week,  Second  Day 

Whence  then  cometh  wisdom? 

And  where  is  the  place  of  understanding? 

Seeing  it  is  hid  from  the  eyes  of  all  living. 

And  kept  close  from  the  fowls  of  the  air. 

Destruction  and  Death  say. 

We  have  heard  a  rumour  thereof  with  our  ears. 

bod  understandeth  the  way  thereof. 

And  he  knoweth  the  place  thereof. 

For  he  looketb  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

And  seeth  under  the  whole  heaven ; 

To  make  a  weight  for  the  wind; 

Yea,  he  meteth  out  the  waters  by  measure. 

•>7 


IIV-2] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


When  he  made  a  decree  for  the  rain, 

And  a  way  for  the  lightning  of  the  thunder: 

Then  did  he  lee  it,  and  declare  it; 

He  eiUblitbed  it,  yea.  and  searched  it  out. 

And  unto  man  he  laid, 

Behold,  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  ii  wisdom; 

And  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding. 

— ^Job  a>:  90-aS. 

A  modern  novelist  has  told  the  world  that  the  writer 
of  drama  and  romance  finds  his  characters  in  himself. 
The  persons  who  move  across  the  stage  are  at  bottom  in- 
carnations of  some  aspect  of  the  writer's  self,  colored  and 
shaped  to  some  extent  by  his  observation  of  other  folk; 
and  a  play  or  a'  story  written  under  these  conditions  be- 
comes a  mirror  of  the  writer's  own  soul.  Most  first- 
class  fiction  carries  between  the  lines  large  elements  of 
autobiography  and  self-revelation.  But  there  is  in  all 
this  a  very  real  danger.  The  writer  may  present  as  a 
complete  philosophy  what  is  after  all  only  a  private  view 
of  life.  He  may  suppose  that  his  own  soul  is  a  full  clue 
to  the  whole  of  experience;  and  consequently  he  may 
become  contemptuous  and  impatient  of  views  that  are  in- 
congruous with  his  own. 

This  was  peculiarly  the  case  with  Shelley.  He  thought 
that  he  read  the  heart  of  humanity  in  his  own  hei^rt. 
"The  characters  which  he  delineates  have  all  this  kind 
of  pure  impulse.  The  reforming  impulse  is  especially  felt. 
In  almost  every  one  of  his  works  there  is  some  character 
of  whon  all  we  know  is  i  .lat  he  or  she  had  a  passionate 
disposition  to  reform  mankind.  We  know  nothing  else 
about  them  and  they  are  all  the  same.'"  Browning  makes 
the  same  point  concerning  Shelley:  "Not  with  the  com- 
bination of  humanity  in  action,  but  with  the  primal  ele- 
ments of  humanity,  he  has  to  do;  and  he  digs  where  he 
stands,  preferring  to  seek  them  in  his  own  soul  as  the 


•Walter  Bagehot,  "Literary  Studin,"  Vol. 
S8 


I.  p.  8i. 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER 


[IV-3I 


Mankiad  was  just 


nearest  reflex  of  the  absolute  mind." 
Shelley  writ  large. 

This  quality  of  our  poet  has  two  consequences  of  im- 
portance. The  first  is  that  Shelley's  whole  view  of  life, 
and  therefore  the  whole  complexion  of  his  work,  was 
colored  by  the  feeling  that  the  great  evil  which  poisoned 
life  was  the  restraining  influence  of  established  institu- 
tions. These  stood  in  the  way  of  reforming  impulse ;  and 
whether  religious,  political,  or  social,  they  all  came  under 
his  lash.  And  over  against  them  he  raised  the  standard 
of  what  he  called  liberty.  In  his  mind,  liberty  consisted 
in  the  removal  of  these  cramping  institutions;  and  the 
true  man  was  he  who,  like  himself,  had  revolted  against 
them.  This  is  the  theme  of  the  two  great  poems,  "The 
Revolt  of  Islam"  and  "Prometheus  Unbound."  It  is 
pertinent  to  observe  that  the  established  religion  of  his 
time  was  included  by  Shelley  in  his  denunciations,  and  no 
man  was  free  until  he  had  broken  with  it. 

Second,  since  he  tended  to  regard  himself  as  the  mirror 
of  humanity,  he  would  naturally  tend  to  seek  himself  in 
Jesus,  to  find  in  Jesus  that  which  he  chiefly  felt  himself 
to  be.  We  shall  find  that  this  is  the  case.  Indeed,  it  is 
more  so  with  Shelley  than  with  most  men,  because  of  his 
very  pronounced  and  self-conscious  individuality.  Just 
as  he  read  himself  into  other  men  and  created  his  charac- 
ters on  his  own  image,  so  when  he  comes  to  contemplate 
Jesus,  it  is  himself  that  he  finds  there,  and  he  gives  us  a 
picture  of  Jesus  which  is  a  refined  and  sublimated  version 
of  himself. 

Fourth  Week.  Third  Day 

To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  Qodf  or  what  UkeneH 
will  jre  compare  unto  him?  The  (raven  image,  a  work- 
man melted  it,  and  the  (oldimith  ipreadeth  it  over  with 
gold,  and  eatteth  for  it  silver  chaini.  He  that  is  too 
impoverished  for  such  an  oblation  chooseth  a  tree  that 
will  not  rot;  he  leeketh  unto  him  a  cunning  workman  to 
■et  up  a  graven  image,  that  shall  not  be  moved.    Have  yt 

59 


lIV-31 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


not  known?  have  ye  not  heard?  hath  it  not  been  told  you 
from  the  beginning?  have  ye  not  understood  from  the 
foundations  of  the  earth?  It  is  he  that  sitteth  upon  the 
circle  of  the  earth,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  as 
grasshoppers;  that  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a  cur- 
tain, and  spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in:  that 
bringeth  princes  to  nothing;  he  maketh  the  judges  of 
the  earth  as  vanity.  Yea,  they  have  not  been  planted; 
yea,  they  have  not  been  sown;  yea,  their  stock  hath  not 
taken  root  in  the  earth:  moreover  he  bloweth  upon  them, 
and  they  wither,  and  the  whirlwind  taketh  them  away  as 
stubble.  To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  me,  that  I  should 
be  equal  to  him?  saith  the  Holy  One.  Lift  up  your  eyes 
on  high,  and  see  who  hath  created  these,  that  bringeth 
out  their  host  by  number:  he  calleth  them  all  by  name; 
by  the  greatness  of  his  might,  and  for  that  he  is  strong 
in  power,  not  one  is  lacking. — Isa.  40 :  i8-a6. 

We  must  first  consider  Shelley's  revolt  from  religion 
and  just  what  it  amounted  to.  His  attitude  to  the  con- 
ventional religion  of  his  time  is  one  of  uncompromising 
antagonism;  and  as  soon  as  he  became  independent,  he 
embraced  atheism.  But  though  he  professed  to  be  an 
atheist,  as  we  have  already  seen,  it  is  not  safe  to  take  the 
description  as  entirely  accurate.  He  began  by  believing 
that  there  was  nothing  but  matter;  but  his  poet's  soul 
could  find  no  resting-place  in  the  desert  of  materialism; 
and,  characteristically,  he  swung  to  the  extreme  opposite 
pole  and  began  to  question  whether  there  was  matter. 
After  all,  might  not  everything  be  spirit  ?  And  might  not 
these  things  we  see  and  touch  and  handle  be  just  parts  and 
manifestations  of  some  great  unseen  spiritual  reality? 
Shelley  came  to  believe,  as  his  great  critic,  Walter  Bage- 
hot,  observes,  that  "passing  phenomena  were  imperfect 
types  and  resemblances,  imperfect  incarnations,  so  to 
speak,  of  certain  immovable,  eternal,  archetypal  realities." 
But  these  realities  had  a  common  basis  in  the  ultimate 
One.    And 

"The  One  remains,  the  many  change  and  pass. 
Heaven's  light  for  ever  shines,  Earth's  shadows  fly; 

60 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER  [IV-4] 

Life  like  a  dome  of  many-coloured  glass 
Stains  the  white  radiance  of  Eternity, 
Until  Death  tramples  it  to  fragments." 

It  seems  but  a  step  from  this  to  a  belief  in  God;  and 
to  this  One  Shelley  does  indeed  give  the  name  of  God. 
But  Shelley's  God,  though  he  speaks  of  him  in  terms  a 
Christian  might  accept,  is  very  far  from  being  the  Chris- 
tian God.  For  the  One  of  whom  Shelley  sings  is  in  no 
sense  personal;  and  consequently  he  cannot  be  regarded 
as  possessing  moral  qualities.  In  his  famous  letter  to 
Lord  Ellenborough,'  Shelley  says:  "Moral  qualities  are 
such  as  only  a  human  being  can  possess.  To  attribute 
them  to  the  spirit  of  the  Universe,  or  to  suppose  it  is 
capable  of  altering  them,  is  to  degrade  God  into  man, 
and  to  annex  to  this  incomprehensible  being  qualities  in- 
compatible with  any  possible  definition  of  its  nature." 
But  where  God  is  conceived  of  as  devoid  of  moral  quali- 
ties, there  cannot  be  any  deep  religious  feeling,  at  least 
in  the  sense  in  which  these  words  are  commonly  under- 
stood; and  if  God  is  impersonrl  or  unmoral,  the  question 
of  any  relation  of  personal  dependence  upon  Him  or 
communion  with  Him,  which  is  the  very  essence  of  reli- 
gion, cannot  possibly  arise. 

Shelley's  God  is  therefore  just  x,  the  unknown  quantity, 
who  is  there,  but  of  whom  we  cannot  gain  any  knowledge. 
This  at  least  was  his  intellectual  judgment  upon  the 
matter;  but  it  is  plain  that  this  did  not  satisfy  Shelley's 
whole  man. 

Fourth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks, 
So  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God. 
My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God: 
When  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God? 


;t  the  punishment  of  a  London 
!or  alleged  blasphemy  in  1813 
judge. 


'^<^ttcr    to  ^Lord    ElIenborouKh 

£"Oll8lld ,     tij     iiiipi  lauiiiiiciil    Kfiu    piliuijr, 
ord  Ellenborough  was  the  condemning 


---"T-      was    written    on    the   occasion 
mblisher,  by  imprisonment  and  pillory. 


[IV-41 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


lljr  tean  have  been  my  meat  day  and  ni^t, 

While  they  continually  lay  unto  me,  Where  it  thy  Oed7 

Theae  things  I  remember,  and  pour  out  my  toul  within 

me. 
How  I  went  with  the  throng,  and  led  them  to  the  house 

of  Ood, 
With  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise,  a  multitude  keeping 

holyday. 
Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  ray  soul? 
And  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me? 
Hope  thou  in  Ood:  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him 
For   the  health  of  his   countenance— Psalm   4a;  1-5. 

Martensen,  the  Scandinavian  theologian,  speaking  of 
certain  thinkers  whose  intellectual  attitude  was  similar 
to  Shelley's,  says:  "We  think  we  can  discern  in  them  a 
yearning  and  a  striving,  of  which  they  ihemselves  are 
unconscious,  after  an  ethical  personal  God  such  as  their 
system  denies.  In  their  moments  of  greatest  enthusiasm, 
they  have  experienced  a  need  of  holding  intercourse  with 
that  highest  Idea  as  though  it  were  a  personal  being. 
Even  in  Spinoza  a  certain  bent  towards  personality  is 
discernible;  for  example,  where  he  speaks  of  intellectual 
love  to  God  and  styles  it  a  part  of  that  infinite  love  with 
which  God  loves  Himself.  Schiller,  Fichte,  and  Hegel 
were,  too,  stirred  by  a  religious,  an  ethical  mysticism 
which  contained  the  germs  of  a  personal  relation  to  God." 

What  this  means  is  that  men,  though  their  intellects 
deny  a  personal  God,  yet  in  their  hearts  seek  after  Him. 
This  same  tendency  is  to  be  seen  in  Shelley.  In  "Alastor," 
he  addresses  the 

"Mother  of  this  unfathomable  World" 
and  asks  her  to 

"Favour  my  solemn  song;  for  I  have  loved 
Thee  ever  and  Thee  only.    I  have  watched 
Thy  shadow  and  the  darkness  of  thy  steps. 
And  my  heart  ever  gazes  on  the  depth 
Of  thy  deep  mysteries." 

62 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER 


[IV-sl 


It  IS  true  that  Shelley  puts  these  words  in  Alastor's 
mouth;  but  if  Alastor  was  not  Shelley,  then  there  never 
was  a  bhelley.  This  same  craving  manifests  itself  in  a 
tendency  to  "personify  isolated  qualities  or  impulses- 
equahty,  liberty,  revenge,  and  so  on."  This  may  be  to 
some  extent  merely  a  poetic  device;  still  it  reflects  the 
yearning  of  the  soul  for  the  over-soul.  And  the  im- 
plications of  this  instinctive  feeling  have  been  stated  by 
a  modern  scientist:  "If  the  religious  instincts  of  the 
human  race  point  out  to  no  reality  as  their  object,  then 
they  are  out  of  analogy  with  other  instinctive  endowments. 
Elsewhere  in  the  animal  world,  we  never  meet  with  such 
a  thing  as  an  instinct  pointing  aimlessly."*  That  is  to 
say.  It  is  a  fair  assumption,  on  the  analogy  of  nature  that 
the  human  craving  for  God  means  that  there  is  a'  God 
to  be  craved  for. 

These  then  are  the  two  elements  in  Shelley's  mental 
badcground— his  conception  of  the  oneness  of  the  ultimate 
reality  and  the  real  though  unrecognized  tendency  to  seek 
some  kind  of  fellowship  with  the  Unseen.  Shelley  might 
call  himself  an  atheist;  but  it  is  plain  at  least  that  he  had 
the  substantial  beginnings  of  a  robust  religious  sense. 

Fourth  Week,  Fifth  Day 

irlVJSSt^T"*^^  l^  *•  "■"»"  *•  *»  *•>•"  that  are  perish- 
in«  foolishneu;  but  unto  us  which  are  beins  MTed  it  U 
the  power  of  God.    For  it  ii  written, 

1  ^".  ^••*'°y  the  wisdom  of  the  wise. 

And  the  prudence  of  the  prudent  will  I  reject. 

dT  V  '*„.*'Vl.^''*',7i"J*  J*  *•  »«"•>«'  "here  «»  the 
*  of  tWi  world?  hath  not  God  made  foolish  the 

rf  r~?A  *'  .'S'fi'*'  f"»f  ••••»?  t*"*'  ™  *»>«  wisdom 
-..  SL**  world  through  its  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it 
r*.?i  "/*^  pleasure  through  the  foolishneu  of  the 
preaching  to  .ave  them  that  believe.  Seeing  that  Jew. 
"k  for  signs,  and  Greeks  seek  after  wlsdmn:  but  we 

'Ronunci,  "Tboughls  on   Relision,"  p.   82. 
63 


[IV-sJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


prMch  Chriit  crucified,  unto  J«wi  a  ■tumbliagblock, 
and  unto  Qcntilei  fooliihneu;  out  unto  them  that  are 
called,  both  Jewa  and  Oreeki,  Chriit  the  power  of  Ood, 
and  the  wiidom  of  Ood.  Becauee  the  foolfihnesi  of  Ood 
it  wieer  than  men;  and  the  weakneii  of  Ood  ii  itronger 
than  men.— I  Cor.  i :  iS-ij. 

It  will  now  be  quite  clear  that  in  approaching  Jesus, 
Shelley  would  exclude  most  of  the  conventional  teaching 
about  Him  from  his  mind.  The  idea  of  incarnation  was 
unthinkable  to  him,  save  only  as  the  impersonal  essence 
which  stood  for  God  in  his  mind  is,  as  it  were,  incarnate 
in  all  things.  That  Jesus  should  be  regarded  as  in  any 
special  or  unique  way  the  Incarnation  of  God,  appeared 
to  our  poet  a  m^re  superstition,  and  the  traditional  view 
of  redemption  through  the  incarnate  Son  of  God  seemed 
the  wildest  foolishness.  In  "Queen  Mab"  (1813),  one 
of  his  early  poems,  he  assails  the  conception  of  the  Atone- 
ment in  a  tone  of  bitter  satire.  After  laying  the  re- 
sponsibility for  human  sin  at  God's  door,  he  goes  on  tn 
describe  the  divine  provision  for  dealing  with  sin. 

"One  way  remains, 
I  will  beget  a  Son,  and  he  shall  bear 
The  sins  of  all  the  world.    He  shall  arise 
In  an  unnoticed  corner  of  the  earth, 
And  there  shall  die  upon  a  cross,  and  purge 
The  universal  crime ;  so  that  the  few 
On  whom  my  grace  descends,  those  who  are  marked 
As  vessels  to  the  honour  of  their  God 
May  credit  this  strange  sacrifice  and  save 
Their  souls  alive ;  millions  shall  live  and  die 
Who  ne'er  shall  call  upon  their  Saviour's  name, 
But  unredeemed  go  to  the  gaping  grave." 

It  is  possible  that  we  have  become  so  habituated  to  the 
New  Testament  teaching  of  redemption  that  we  have  lost 
the  sense  of  its  staggering  strangeness.  Shelley  stood  re- 
mote from  it  and  saw  much  of  that  uniqueness  and  un- 
familiarity  to  which  habit  blinds  us;  but  it  was  so  com- 
64 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER 


IIV-6J 


pletely  foreign  to  his  univcse  that  in  his  impulsive  way 
he  wrote  it  all  off  as  an  absurdity.  This  is  one  of  those 
cases  where  Shelley's  disinclination  to  master  the  sig- 
nificance of  all  the  facts  of  the  case  led  him  irto  a  position 
from  which  a  little  more  patience  would  have  saved  him 
as  indeed  a  maturer  judgment  uhimately  did.  "Queen 
Mab"  was  the  product  of  youthful  and  rather  aggressive 
atheism;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  believe  that,  in  spite  of 
the  great  genius  displayed  by  the  poem,  his  wife  was 
right  in  saying  that  she  thought  his  mature  taste  would 
have  condemned  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  1821  he  him- 
self described  it  as  "villainous  trash." 

To  Shelley,  then,  Jesus  would  rank  simply  as  a  man; 
and  from  what  we  know  of  Shelley's  habit  of  mind,  we 
should  be  able  to  anticipate  without  much  difficultv  the 
kind  of  character  with  which  he  would  invest  Him.  Of 
his  admiration  for  Jesus  there  can  be  no  question;  but  it 
was  inevitable  that  he  should  class  Him  among  the  goodly 
company  of  reformers.  "Jesus  Christ  was  crucified,"  he 
had  written  to  Lord  Ellenborough,  before  "Queen  Mab" 
had  appeared,  "because  He  attempted  to  supersede  the 
ritual  of  Moses  with  regulations  more  moral  and  hun.ane ; 
his  very  judge  made  public  acknowledgment  of  His  inno- 
cence, but  an  ignorant  and  bigoted  mob  demanded  the 
deed  of  horror— Barabbas  the  traitor  and  murderer  was 
released.  The  meek  reformer  Jesus  was  immolated  to  the 
sanguinary  deity  of  the  Jews."  This  passage  shows  a 
characteristic  misreading  of  the  facts,  but  it  shows  clearly 
the  category  in  which  Shelley  placed  Jesus.  But  the 
ascription  to  Him  of  any  character  transcending  that  of 
a  reformer,  Shelley  put  down  as  a  superstition.  It  should, 
however,  be  remembered  that  the  role  of  reformer  was 
the  highest  and  noblest  in  Shelley's  scheme  of  things. 

Fourth  Week,  Sixth  Day 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neigbbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy:  but  I  uy  unto  you, 

6S 


IIV-6J 


THAT  ONE  fACE 


Lor*  your  raMiii**,  and  pray  for  th«m  that  Mrttcutt  you: 
that  ya  may  bt  mm  of  your  Father  whIchMt  in  haavan: 
for  h«  makath  hit  aua  to  riaa  on  tha  avil  and  tha  good, 
uid  amdath  rain  on  tha  juat  and  tha  unjuat.  For  If  ya 
loTo  tliam  tlut  Io»a  tou,  what  raward  hava  yaf  do  not 
avan  tha  publicana  tha  aama?  And  if  ya  aaluta  yow 
l5r**ftL*^«"''lJ''"'  do  ya  mora  than  othara7  do  not  iran 
tha  Oantile*  tha  aama?  Ya  tharafore  ahall  ba  parfact. 
aa  your  haavcnly  Father  ia  perfect.— Matt.  5: 43.48. 

In  his  "Essay  on  Christianity"  (1816),  Shelley  makes 
a  serious  attempt  to  estin-    '  the  significance  of  Jesus 
and  His  teaching.    At  th«     utset,  he  acknowledges  "his 
extraordinary  genius,  the  *ide  and  rapid  effect  of  his 
unexampled  doctrines,  his  invincible  gentleness  and  be- 
nignity, the  devoted  love  borp-  to  him  by  his  adherents." 
"We  discover,"  he  says  later  in  the  essay,  "that  he  is  the 
enemy  of  oppression  and  of  falsehood ;  that  he  is  an  advo- 
cate of  equal  justice,  that  he  is  neither  disposed  to  sanction 
bloodshed  nor  deceit,  under  whatsoever  pretences  their 
practice  may  be  vindicated.    We  discover  that  he  was  a 
man  of  meek  and  majestic  demeanour,  calm  in  danger,  of 
natural  and  simple  thoughts  and  habits,  beloved  to  adora- 
tion by  his  adherents,  unmoved,  solemn,  severe."    Shelley 
had  evidently  read  the  gospels  to  some  purpose;  and  the 
picture  he  draws  is  open  to  no  criticism.    But  one  peculiar- 
ity Shelley's  portrait  of  Jesus  has  which   3  very  luminous. 
He  finds  it  impossible  to  draw  a  picture  to  his  own  liking 
without  excising  from  the  gospel  narratives  certain  pas- 
sages which  appeared  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  charac- 
ter of  Jesus— a  proceeding  neither  scientific  nor  just.    But 
It  shows  that,  to  Shelley,  Jesus  seemed  so  altogether  ad- 
mirable that  he  would  not  allow  the  records  of  His  life 
(as  he  understood  or  misunderstood  them)    to  cast  an 
inadvertent  shadow  upon  His  stainless  beauty. 

In  his  account  of  Jesus'  teachings,   Shelley  makes  a 

brave  attempt  to  reconcile  it  with  his  own  view  of  things. 

God  IS  represented  by  Jesus  Christ  as  the  power  from 

which  and  through  which  the  streams  of  all  that  is  delight- 

66 


THE  POET  AS  KEFOKMER 


W-i] 


ful  and  excellent  flow,  the  power  which  molds  as  they 
pass  all  the  elements  of  this  mixed  universe  to  the  purest 
and  most  perfect  shape  which  it  belongs  to  their  nature 
to  assume.  Jesus  Christ  attributes  to  this  power  the 
(acuity  of  Will.  How  far  such  a  doctrine  in  its  ordinary 
sense  may  be  philosophically  true  or  how  far  Jesus  Chriv 
mtentionally  availed  himself  of  a  metaphor  easily  under- 
stood, It  IS  foreign  to  the  subject  to  consider.  This  ii.lk'i 
IS  certain,  that  Jesus  Christ  represents  God  as  the  i-nxum 
of  all  goodness,  the  eternal  enemy  of  all  evil,  the  .ml form 
and  unchanging  motive  of  the  salutary  operations  of  iMo 
material  world."  This  sounds  very  lik>^  Matthew  Arnolds 
definition  of  God  as  "that  stream  of  tendency,  not  oir.- 
selves,  that  makes  for  righteousness,"  but  it  is  very 
remote  from  Jesus'  own  words:  "After  this  manner,  pny 
ye.  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven."  or  "I  know  that  Thou 
hearest  me  always."  Though  Shelley  saw  the  beauty  of 
Jesus,  It  IS  plain  that  he  has  not  properly  understood  His 
mind. 

Our  poet,  however,  sees  that  Jesus'  ethical  teaching  rests 
upon  His  conception  of  the  moral  nature  of  God;  but  it  is 
quite  in  keeping  with   Shelley's  habit  of  mind  that  he 
should  find  the  distinctive  element  of  the  teaching  to  be 
the  injunctions  against  revenge.    "Jesus  Christ  instructed 
his  disciples  to  be  perfect  as  their  Father  in  heaven  is 
perfect,  declaring  at  the  same  time  his  belief  that  this 
perfection    requires    the    refraining    from    revenge    and 
retribution  in  its  various  shapes."    This  is  hardly  a  com- 
plete account  of  what  Jesus  meant  by  "perfection."    That 
quality  is  no  negative  thing;  it  consists  in  love,  a  love  that 
IS,  as  Dr.  Forsyth  says,  true  to  itself  through  everything 
even  to  the  loving  of  enemies.    Of  the  way  in  which  Jesus 
thought  about  human  nature,  Shelley  gives  an  account 
which  is  just  enough.    "He  simply  exposes  with  the  pas- 
sionate rhetoric  of  enthusiastic  love  towards  all  human 
Mings  the  misery  and  the  mischiefs  of  that  system  which 
makes  all  things  subservient  to  the   subsistence  of  the 
67 


lIV-7] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


material  frame  of  man.  He  warns  them  that  no  man  can 
serve  two  masters,  God  and  mammon,  that  it  is  impossible 
at  once  to  be  highminded  and  just  and  wise  and  to  comply 
with  the  accustomed  forms  of  human  society,  seek  power, 
wealth,  or  empire,  from  idolatry  of  habit,  or  as  the  direct 
instruments  of  sensual  gratification."  All  of  this,  after 
all,  is  only  an  extended  way  of  saying  an  ancient  word 
which  Jesus  repeated  at  a  memorable  moment,  and  in 
which  He  expressed  the  fundamental  distinctiveness  of 
the  nature  of  man — "Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone." 

Fourth  Week,  Seventh  Day 

And  they  come  unto  Bethsaida.  And  they  bring  to 
him  a  blind  man,  and  beseech  him  to  touch  him.  And 
he  took  hold  o£  the  blind  man  by  the  hand,  and  bronght 
him  out  of  the  village ;  and  when  he  had  apit  on  his  eyes, 
and  laid  his  hands  upon  him,  he  asked  him,  Seest  thou 
aught?  And  he  looked  up,  and  said,  I  see  men;  for  I  be- 
hold them  as  trees,  walking.  Then  again  he  laid  hii 
hands  upon  his  eyes;  and  he  looked  stedfastly,  :.1  was 
restored,  and  saw  all  things  clearly.  And  he  b-...t  him 
away  to  bis  home,  saying.  Do  not  even  enter  into  the 
village. — Mark  8:  32-a6. 

It  is  clear  that  Shelley  has  nothing  particularly  new 
to  ttll  us  about  Jesus.  Indirectly,  however,  he  has  a  good 
deal  to  teach  us.  To  begin  with,  we  have  in  Shelley  a 
mind  entirely  emptied  of  all  prepossessions  in  favor  of 
religion  and  altogether  at  enmity  with  all  forms  of  orga- 
nized religion;  and  it  is  plainly  of  some  importance  to 
have  seen  how  Jesus  impresses  such  a  mind.  That  there 
was  a  certain  change  of  intellectual  position  in  the  interval 
between  "Queen  Mab"  and  the  "Essay  on  Christianity" 
is  scarcely  open  to  question.  But  this  change  is  in  no  wise 
comparable  to  the  complete  revolution  of  temper  which 
has  taken  place  in  the  same  interval.  In  the  "Essay" 
there  is  nothing  of  the  bitter  satire  of  "Queen  Mab"; 
on  the  contrary,  there  i.s  a  sensible  atmosphere  of  sym- 
pathy. The  care  alluded  to  already  that  nothing  in  the 
68 


THE  POET  AS  REFORMER 


[IV-7] 


i   gospel  records  themselves  should  sully  the  fame  of  Jesus 
not  even  the  supposed  extravagances  of  the  evangelists' 
1  shows  how  the  figure  of  Jesus  has  influenced  the  poet's 
\  temper.    Yet  his  vision  yields  him  no  adequate  vision  of 
Jesus.      The   disparity    between    the    Christ    of    Shelley's 
"Essay"  and  the  Jesus  of  the  gospels  is  considerable     But 
is  the  story  not  told  of  one  who,  as  sight  came  to  him 
saw  men  as  trees  walking?     And  the  unclear  vision  of 
Shelley  seems  to  be  not  so  much  the  result  of  defective 
.■sight  as  the  premonition  of  a  growing  and  clearing  sight 
As  he  settled  down  to  study  Jesus,  his  eyes  began  to  be 
opened.     Who  can  tell,  had  not  the  angel  of  death  come 
.so  early,  but  that  Shelley  might  yet  have  seen  vastly  more 
m  the  face  of  Jesus?    He  had  already  traveled  far  from 
the  days  of  "Queen  Mab"  by  the  time  he  came  to  write 
the  "Essay."     Whether  he  would  have  reached  the  tra- 
ditional view  of  Jesus  as  we  find  it  in  the  creeds,  may  be 
open  to  question ;  but  he  was  beyond  peradventure  on  the 
road  to  a  larger  and  fuller  vision. 

We  have  seen  how  Shelley  read  his  own  passion  for 
reform   into  Jesus,   and   in   the   same   manner,   he   finds 
Jesus  to  be,  like  himself,  a  poet.     Shelley,  like  all  men 
of  his  temperament,  believed  intensely  in  himself  and  in 
his  mission.     That  one  should  be  a  poet  and  a  reformer 
was  to  attain  the  summit  of  manhood;  and  so  Jesus  ap- 
peared to  Shelley.    He  was  the  "sublimest  and  most  holy 
poet";  and  also,  "he  tramples  upon  all  received  opinions, 
on  all  cherished  luxuries  and  superstitions  of  mankind. 
He  bids  them  cast  aside  the  claims  of  custom  and  blind 
taith  by   which   they  have  been   encompassed    from  the 
very  cradle  of  their  being."     Shelley  tended  o-ermuch 
to  identify   reform   with   mere   iconoclasm;   and   in   this 
passage,  he  was  merely  executing  a  portrait  of  himself. 
Vet  does  not  all  this  illustrate  the  truth  that  the  measure 
of  our  sympathy  with  a  person  is  the  measure  of  our 
understanding  of  him?    This  is  true  of  Jesus,  as  of  all 
other  men.     The   kinship  of   poetic   spirit   and  humane 
6g 


[IV-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


aspiration  which  Shelley  found  in  Jesus  became  the  meas- 
ure of  his  understanding  of  Jesus.  This,  so  far  as  it 
goes,  is  good  and  true ;  but  it  is  not  a  sufficient  ground  for 
a  complete  judgment  upon  Jesus. 

SUOOESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

Look  up  in  a  good  dictionary  these  terms:  Atheist, 
Agnostic,  Skeptic,  Pantheist,  Deist ;  and  consider  to  what 
class  Shelley  belongs. 

In  what  sense  was  Jesus  a  reformer?  What  did  He 
reform?  Sometimes  He  has  been  called  a  "revolution- 
ary."   Is  this  true  ?    If  so,  in  what  sense  ? 

What  was  Shelley  thinking  about  when  he  said  Jesus  ' 
was  a  poet?     Can  you  find  any  poetry  in  the  gospels? 
Remember  that  you  may  have  poetry  without  rhyme  or 
meter. 

Consider  how  much  you  can  know  of  a  man  from— 
(a)  reading  his  life  and  (b)  reading  his  books  or  study- 
ing his  pictures.  What  is  it  that  you  do  not  discover 
from  these  sources;  and  how  or  where  can  you  discover 
this  thing?    Apply  this  to  our  knowledge  of  Jesus. 

Consider  the  Seventh  Day's  Scripture  reading  as  an  in- 
terpretation of  Shelley's  spiritual  life. 


H 


70 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Poet  as  Rebel— William 
Blake 

(1757—1827) 

a  retl     TK      .7"  !"'""  ='"'^'  °'-  !««».   Blake  was 
a  rebel.    The  student  of  Blake  will  finH\!,,„         •  , 

Blake,  however,  was  much  more  of  a  rebel  than  Shin' 
No  man  ever  loved  liberty  with  ,  ^L  ■        ^"«"«y- 

|h«r  fetters.  Blake  drdn^h^itaeo^r  a^cSr'  T' 

■n.  the  days  of  the  French  RevoLrrhrlV^t  Zl 

71 


IV-i] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


London  wearing  a  red  cap;  and  whether  it  was  authority 
in  rehgion,  or  convention  in  art,  tradition  in  literature  or 
absolutism  in  politics,  in  so  far  as  Blake  believed  it  to 
hinder  mens  freedom,  he  assailed  it  with  a  vehemence 
that  never  relented.  Naturally  it  was  in  the  region  of  Art 
that  his  protest  was  loudest  and  his  rebellion  most  un- 
yielding; but  he  sang  the  praises  of  Wesley  and  Whitfield 
because  they  had  dared  to  break  through  the  dry  formal- 
ism of  the  conventional  religion  of  their  own  time  •  and 
he  was  one  of  that  farsecing  and  courageous  company  of 
Englishmen  who  had  the  hardihood  to  side  with  the 
thirteen  American  colonies  in  their  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. He  was  the  consistent  devotee  of  libertv 
throughout  his  life.  ' 

But  whereas  Shelley  was  an  intellectualist  and  a  poet 
of  Ideas,   Blake   was  a   seer  and  a  poet  of  visions.     He 
professed  to  see  visions  in  which  he  talked  with  the  Old 
Testament  prophets  and  some  of  the  great  personalities 
of  history;  and  these  visions  were  more   real  and  im- 
mediate to  him  than  the  actualities  of  life.     Whether  we 
accept  Blake's  own  view  of  these  visions  or  not    it  is 
beyond  question  that  he  was  a  seer  of  quite  extraordinary 
power  and  originality.     What  seems  to  be  true  of  him  is 
that  he  lived  consistently  upon  that  shadowy  border  line 
which   separates   the   waking  world   from   the   world  of 
dreams.     The  fantastic  results,  both  in  his  conversation 
and    written    work    and,    indeed,    in    his    drawings     have 
tempted  some  to  believe  that  Blake  was  mad.     But  two 
such  formidable  critics  as  Algernon  Swinburne  and  G. 
K.  t-hesterton  have  finally  dispelled  the  myth  of  Blake's 
insanity.     Perhaps   it   is  the   case   that   Blake   was,   after 
all,  wholly  sane ;  and  that  we  who  live  so  exclusively  in 
the  world  of  sense  are  not  altogether  sane. 

But  the  fact  remains  that  Blake's  writing  and  drawing 
are  to  a  great  extent  obscure  and  difficult  of  interpreta- 
tion.    He  invented  a   wild  and  staggering  symbolism   in 
order  to  convey  his  ideas;   and  since  he  left  no  clue  t,- 
72 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL  (v.,j 

his  symbolism,  i(  is  certain  that  larte  tnru  „f  i,- 

lines  of  what  h'^h^t^sJ/rr woI'^^bS",""'; 
to  ours.  ^  '"'""''  '^  "°'  ^^'thout  its  pertinence 

po«v;'irobsrure''°or:h;?or''''°"''  '"^^  ^^  «'«'<e's 

and   lyrics   are   I   ^W.^^lTl^/^y^l^r.   "'  "^  ""^'^^ 
stream.     It  is  only  in  the  so  callpH  ^^^   T  •"    '"°"ntain 

i^  hard  and  sometiLs  i^poL^ibTe'to  unS  a'd"  OHH  "^ 
there  are  several— the  chi^f  ,„^  .u     '"f;^"nd.    Of  these 

salem--in  which  B  ake  his  «thereH  "°'J"*  '"'"^  "J""" 
phy  of  life.  gathered  up  his  whole  philoso- 

p™ph"eclestd"\h:^rer  1;^'^''^   *-"»•  ^^^  of  the 
'ished  by  the  Oxford  UnivS/'Pr^s.r'""'  '^^  P""" 

DAILY  READINGS 


Fifth  Week.  First  Day 


no^go'cd  te  f?r\o"^&  ilf^Wlin?  ^fn  «•« V^^'J^f 
that  which  is  good  is  not  pP.  A  *  "'*''  ""«•  but  to  do 
I  do  not:  but  Se  evn  wWch  I  -^''L*°°''  "''"»'  ^  "ould 
But  if  what  I  would  not  t£.t  7  do  i??.'  **"*  ^  P'«"»« 
do  It,  but  sin  which  dwelleth  in  ^.'  i  c  "»"«>«•«  I  that 
that  to  me  who  wo,3rdo  good  evil  i.^*^  **""  *«  '«^. 
delight  in  the  law  of  God  ffter  th.  ii'  P«ient.  For  I 
fee  a  different  law  in  nuTm.IfL      *  •""•'<«  man:  but  I 

•w  of  mv  mind!  and  KSg  me"' i„7o"'"«  ■"•?•""♦  «»« 
the  law  of  sin  which  i.  iA  ™„  *  t  '"'°  ««Ptivity  under 
that  I  am ,  who  sSal  delive"^  me"!',"- .  °.  ""t'hed  rS." 
feath?    I  thank  God  through  j";u^"chH.V"  ^°P  °J  *^^» 

71 


'^m 


IV-i] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


creative  imagination  expressed  in  any  medium,  whether 
of  substance  or  of  sound,  by  which  the  human  spirit  may 
make  itself  articulate.  Blake's  God  is  the  supreme  artist ; 
Jesus  was  the  incarnation  of  the  poetic  or  creative  genius. 
"Prayer,"  inscribed  Blake  on  one  of  his  engravings,  "is 
the  study  of  Art.  Praise  is  the  practice  of  Art."  "A 
Poet,  a  Painter,  a  Musician,  an  Architect— the  man  or 
woman  who  is  not  one  of  these  is  not  a  Christian."  "The 
eternal  body  of  man,"  he  says  in  the  same  place,  "is  the 
imagination,  that  is,  God  himself,  the  divine  body,  Jesus. 
We  are  His  members.  It  manifests  itself  in  His  works 
of  Art ;  in  eternity  all  is  vision." 

The  point  here  is  that  God  is  the  creator,  but  as  God  is 
immanent  in  all  men,  then  men,  too,  are  creative  beings; 
and  only  as  they  are  creative  are  they  real  men.  The 
emphasis  upon  the  divine  indwelling  is  constant  through- 
out Blake: 

"Go  tell  them  that  worshipping  God  is  honouring  His  gifts 
In  other  men;  and  loving  the  greatest  men  best;  each 

according 
To  his  power,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost  in  man ;  there  is 

no  other 
God  than  that  God,  who  is  the  intellectual  fountain  of 

humanity." 

But  Blake  is  well  aware  that  this  doctrine  does  not 
cover  all  the  facts  of  life.  Man  does  not  live  up  to  this 
view  of  him;  and  Blake  has  to  take  account  of  that  fact 
which  William  James  has  called  the  "divided  self."  This 
fact  Blake  meets  by  enunciating  a  doctrine  of  conversion: 
"Man  is  born  a  spectre  or  Satan  and  is  altogether  an 
evil  and  requires  a  new  self-hood  continually,  and  must 
be  changed  into  his  direct  contrary."  This  is  a  doctrine 
of  original  sin  and  conversion  definite  and  clear  enough 
to  satisfy  the  most  conservative  Christian.  But  it  does 
not  follow  that  the  new  nature  as  Blake  sees  it  will  behave 
itself  in  the  same  manner  as  the  converted  person  of  the 
74 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL 


fV-i] 


common  tradition.    According  tn  ♦!,.  u..       .  ■     . 
are  transformed  into  saintf  i^cordilr.o'm'.V"*' ^' 
are  soundly  converted,  we  are  trln/f„,  *^  J  •      ''•":  '*  *" 
poets.     That  u  f  transformed  mto  artists  and 

The  trouble  with  man  is  twofold.    First  of  >ll   i,.  i. 
trouble  within  himself.     The  poet  c  otrr^,-    '        *"" 
through  which  manhood  i.T„  •/        creative  energy 

onlyTngredient  ThSSn  1^"""^;'"!' ::f  "?'  l^ 
composition  the  two  Dowerrnf  n.  .^''*'^«  "^  also  in  his 
is  right  only  when  dS«  ,„rf^  '  ?".''  ^*"°"-  ^an 
andlo  enabk  the  crea  We  ener^'t""  ''"*""  ""=''  °*" 
equable  and  unstrained  fasHon^ut  ?'"'>r  '■^'.^  '"  *" 
Reason  are  apt  to  be  at  rr„«  '""^">'  ^"^  and 

inward  chaos  "oss-purposes  and  the  result  is 

equ^H;  iH^trbiTiidier  A°  £  '"r"'^=  •>- 

for  those  who  restrai^  Desire  7h  ?      "  ^"^  ""'<""?» 

their  desire  is  weScen^'Lh '''''J:  ""'^  ='".««^<1  "because 

same  time  he UtanKnllXKn ^'  ''' 

B.r'caiis'i!r/:Lrr"^'  '■'••^  -^^^^^^^^^^  "s-'a-: 

wa7n,n„  J    •.?  ^  ^''  *"  ^"'°"  is  denied.     But  Blake 


IV-aJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Fifth  Week,  Second  Day 

But  when  it  wai  now  the  midit  of  the  leait  Jetut  went 
up  into  the  temple,  and  taught.  The  Jewi  therefore 
nurvellcd,  saying,  How  knoweth  tbii  man  letteri,  having 
never  learned?  Jeiua  therefore  answered  them,  and  said. 
My  teaching  is  not  mine,  but  hi.'  that  sent  me.  If  any 
man  willeth  to  do  his  will,  he  sb^^l  know  of  the  teaching, 
whether  it  be  of  Ood,  or  whcuti-.^  I  speak  from  myself. 
He  that  speaketh  from  himac\r  seeketh  his  own  glory: 
bnt  he  that  seeketh  the  glory  of  him  that  sent  him,  the 
same  is  true,  and  no  unrighteousness  is  ia  him.  Did 
not  Moses  give  you  the  law,  and  yet  none  of  you  doeth 
the  law?  Why  seek  ye  to  kill  me?  The  multitude  an- 
swered. Thou  hast  k  devil:  who  seeketh  to  kill  thee? 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  I  did  one  work,  and 
ye  all  marvel.  For  this  cause  hath  Moses  given  you 
circumcision  (not  that  it  is  of  Moses,  but  of  the  fathers) ; 
and  on  the  sabbath  ye  circumcise  a  man.  If  a  man  re- 
ceiveth  circumcision  on  the  sabbath,  that  the  law  of 
Moses  may  not  be  broken ;  are  ye  wroth  with  me,  because 
I  made  a  man  every  whit  whole  on  the  sabbath?  Judge 
not  according  to  appearance,  but  judge  righteous  judge- 
ment.—Joim  7: 14-34. 

It  is  said  that  "the  goal  of  thought  is  one,"  and  the 
task  to  which  the  human  Reason  sets  itself  is  that  of 
finding  the  "one,"  the  underlying  unity  of  things.  It  goes 
about  this  task  first  by  studying  things  and  grouping 
them  according  to  their  similarities.  Then  it  tries  to  find 
a  general  statement,  on  the  basis  of  the  similarity,  that 
is  explanatory  and  true  of  each  of  these  groups.  After- 
wards, it  proceeds  to  compare  and  group  these  general 
statements,  and  to  discover  still  longer  generalizations 
which  will  cover  and  explain  the  first  groups  of  general 
statements.  It  hopes  some  time  to  evolve  one  supreme 
general  statement  which  will  cover  all  the  facts  of  life, 
and  when  it  does  that  there  will  be  no  more  need  to 
think. 

But  it  is  not  likely  to  do  so.  Life  is,  after  all,  a  greater 
thing  than  thought;  and  thought  is  never  able  to  keep 
pace  with  life.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  generalizations 
76 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL  ,v-aj 

that  .,rea.  .rSlu.eJirn.'th^"  h'' wt^.n^J'""  '^^ 
atomic  theory   it  was  .i,nn«.  j  »    u     ^      known  as  the 

the  constitutfon  of  "atterNow  w^  i"'  '"'l'^'"''  »»«"' 

^«itvjst.rthr^'^--"--^^^-^ 
,e;9;u^:r:araU,rt::hVrn:Jt^"r  r 

sin  to  doubt  their  truth  !nH  '"''.P^"^""^  i'  becomes  a 
the  light  of  the  L  tTnow.ed«  r^h^-'"^  ""=■"•  '" 
Sieved  that  the  sun  =  3"ai  ^^e  ":r^^^  ""=•= 

t>on  the  truth  of  this  view  was  a  ,in  ,  J  ;  '.'° '""■ 
Galileo  was  imprisoned  bj'he  Inqui  ti;n  When'n"^  ?° 
enunciated  the  evolutinn  m.„       u  "^"^"  Darwin 

atheist  because  he  hid  dared  ?'  ^^  *"  ""''^'^"^  «  «" 
-heory  of  creatii   And'y\7  o  ^^Vrow^hf^^^^^^ 
was  rijht.     This  doe«  n/t  .^-        u  *""'  Darwin 

-^aid  tC-  last  word  uoorthr  K-  °*'^"'  '*''"  ^*^^'"" 
«l.at  the-  theory  of  evoTu"ionh«^'"'/"u''  ''  ''  P""'"' 
dogma  which  all  r„'°"/^'  '''''"^'^y  ''"''^"'d  into  a 
noUikely  to  bu  „  or  ,o  c  llo^r^"'"-  f'^Z'"''''  *«  ''^'^ 
evolution;  but  perhaps  a'  t^  late"r  '°'  '"^'^"^ving  in 
gone  beyond  Da'llin'^^J  Seatticked  asT"'  "'"'  "''? 
youth.    And  so  it  goes  on         *"**='"•'  *'  "  corrupter  of 

abo':.t^fm%:^ief:, 'ii°:,  '"'"^  ^°'"«  -  ■•-"'' 

philosophy,  renin  Lnt  csart  I  '''''""'  "^  ^ogma-in 
imprison  men'sSs  fe  ..n'  Ir  <=^"ywhere-which 
which  bind  and  cn„h  ^  '  '*""*  'y*'*"^  "wheels." 

ni.ions  and  laws  of  the  "h.::  PY«>nality;  and  the  defi- 
of  opaquene  s  "  a  laS  „f  H   ?"  '"  ^-^  ""^  "'^'^  "">" 

mind's  leh:pelesC^:i'tr  T^  -|--h  men's 
f         J  t.igca.     -.aeon,  ^.ewton.  I^ocfce,  and 

77 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


IV-3J 

''''".e?ro«"h.'„"J  ''•'^'"'  •"«"''«'  '»  "'-.I  ...el  th.ir 
^*.'..^°nt,*""''^'  °^"  ^">'°"!  R"-ni„g.  iike  v..t 

Kvy'Vr«tE'fLu''r''  °'  ^«-'°"'  bUck  the  Qo.h 
0.^=7  ^^^-eJ^actJ..^^ 

Movin^^^by  compulsion  each  Cher;  not  «  those  in  Eden 
Wh«I  within  wheel  in  freedom  revolve  in  harmony  and 

to  doctrhes  and  law«  wh.Vi,  i.  i j\^  ,  ^  "^  "*"  *'°*'" 
.thrall  and  forbade Xir^S't'ee  ^*  J^"  "'  "'?  '" 
in  the  bondage  of  reaaon  Zh*  ?"  *"  '*'*'  »  '"a*" 
in  order  to  !ha«er  fh«;T^ -.  ^'".'"' ''  ""*•  S'"'''  «ved 
.lave.  "•"'  '^"'^  *"<^  »°  emancipate  the 

Fifth  Week,  Third  Day 

|..^.n'.^V."S:t  «Vth".«'*iil?  '"^•-  '«'  *.  fir.t 
!•  no  more.  And  I  mw  the  h^  ol^"'^'  •^«'  *•  ••• 
coming  down  out  of  hwtr^tr^f^'  ""T  J«n«alem. 
bride  .domed  for  her  husbMiX^i:  ""/*  "•''y  "  • 
out  of  the  throne  ..yitJL  SlLl^?  ^  '"f'*  *  «»■•■'  ^"i" 
i.  with  men.  «.d  l«X"g'd*w«itk^^h:^^-'/5j//^^^^ 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL 


thtir  part  ihall  b«  in  th.  uw?!  ™l'"""*'  •»«»  •"  llari 
brlnuton.;  which  i^^^'^'^A^^^,,^^^.^^'^ 

remember  that,  though  he  s~nr  ^"'"i  **  "^'^"'  '» 
^'tacking  exist  „g  infti.u.lonraL'"";''  °'.''''  '""^y  "" 
'^ith  large  and  wonderful  rn.  •"'*'"'  •«  *»»  »  man 
•feed  a,  f  801,'.:°^  t  SdTl't"''-  ''  **»  -" 
significant  of  the   iudemenV  n?.-  ''"°'^":  »"<•  it  » 

b^'t  known  line,  a«  C  :^  1"?^  T"  ''''»  ">at  hi, 
«If  in  the  role  of  a  builder!  "^  •"  ''"'="'*»  ««- 

"n*'"  "°f  ««e  from  mental  fight 
In  England  s  green  and  pleasant  land  " 

The  stones  are  Pitv  and  th.  k.-  1       "'^°' 

tions  ^  '"'*  "'«  '>"':''s  well  wrought  Affec- 

E«db,  Love  and  Kindness;  and  the  tiles  engraven 
For^teS'"'  "'""'■    ^"^  •*»-  "d  rafter,  an. 


MICROCOI>Y    RfSOlUTION    TBT   CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHfKJ  No,  21 


^  /APPLIED  IIVHGE     Inc 

^^  1653   Eost   Main   Street 

f,iS:  Rochester,   New   York         1*609       USA 

'-^  (716)   682  -  0300  -  Phooe 

^^  (716)   288  -  5989  -  Fox 


[V-3l 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


The  mortar  and  cement  of  the  work,  tears  of  Honesty; 
the  nails 

And  the  screws  and  the  iron  braces  well-wrought  Blan- 
dishments, 

And  well  contrived  words,  firm-fixing,  never  forgotten. 

Always  comforting  the  remembrance;  the  floors. 
Humility;  

The  ceilings.  Devotion;  the  hearths,  Thanksgivmg. 

It  was  '-Jst  because  the  "systems"  of  his  day  prevented 
at  every  point  the  building  of  his  ideal  city  that  he  at- 
tacked them.  His  destructive  criticism  was  simply  an 
incident  in  what  was  to  him  a  great,  pressing,  positive 
task.  And  wheresoever  in  the  wide  world  he  heard  of 
men  breaking  the  bonds  of  systems— political,  religious, 
or  other— he  lifted  up  his  voice  in  exultation : 

"He  sent  his  two  Servants,  Whitfield  and  Wesley;  were 

they  Prophets, 
Or  were  they  Idiots  or  Madmen  ?    Show  us  miracles ! 
Can  you  have  greater  Miracles  than  these?     Men  who 

devote  .   . 

Their  life's  whole  comfort  to  entire  scorn  and  injury 

and  death?" 

Rebellion  against  outworn  authority  was  to  him  one  of 
the  credentials  of  holiness;  and  his  heart  warmed  to  any 
man  who,  like  Jesus,  "suffered  without  the  gate."  When 
the  American  colonies  broke  loose  from  the  tyrannous 
absolutism  of  Georgian  England,  Blake  greatly  rejoiced 
and  sang  one  of  his  great  "prophecies."  In  "America"  is 
a  song  which  is  one  of  the  classics  of  the  literature  of 
liberty : 

"The  morning  comes,  the  night  decays,  the  watchmen  leave 
their  station, 
The  grave  is  burst,  the  spices  shed,  the  linen  wrapped  up; 
The  bones  of  death,  the.  cov'ring  clay,  the  sinews  shrunk 
and  dried 

So 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL 


[V-4] 


Reviving  shake,  inspiring  move,  breathing,  awakening. 
Spring  like   redeemed  captives,   when   their   bonds  and 

bars  are  burst. 
Let  the  slave  grinding  at  the  mill  run  out  into  the  field, 
Let  him   look  up  into   the   heavens   and   laugh   in   the' 

bright  air; 
Let  the  enchained  soul,  shut  up  in  darkness  and  in  sieh- 

ing  * 

Whose  face  has  never  seen  a  smile  in  thirty  weary  years, 
Rise  and  look  out ;  his  chains  arc  loose,  his  dungeon  doors 

are  open. 
And  let  his  wife  and  children  return  from  the  oppressor's 

scourge. 
They  look  behind  at  every  step,  and  believe  it  is  a  dream 
Smging,  'The  Sun  has  left  his  blackness  and  has  found 

a  fresher  morning 
And  the  fair  Moon  rejoices  in  the  clear  and  cloudless 

night ; 
For  Empire  is  no  more,  and  now  the  Lion  and  the  Wolf 

shall  cease.' " 

This  kind  of  man,  then,  was  William  Blake.  His  passion 
was  to  set  men  free  from  all  hard  and  fast  systems  of 
thought  and  conduct,  so  that  the  creative  urge  of  per- 
sonality, the  divine  in  man,  should  express  itself  freely 
and  fully.  Shelley  pleaded  for  freedom  because  he  had  a 
tender  heart  for  suffering  humanity;  Blake  fought  for 
freedom  in  order  that  every  man  might  have  the  chance 
to  rise  to  the  full  stature  of  his  manhood. 

Fifth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

[And  they  went  every  man  unto  his  own  house:  but 
Jesus  went  unto  the  mount  of  Olives.  And  early  in  the 
mornrng  he  came  again  into  the  temple,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple came  unto  him;  and  he  sat  down,  and  taught  them 
And  the  scribes  and  the  Pharisees  bring  a  woman  taken 
in  adiUtery;  and  having  set  her  in  the  midst,  they  say 
unto  him,  Master,  this  woman  hath  been  taken  in  adultery 
in  the  very  act.  Now  in  the  law  Moses  commanded  us 
to  stone  such:  what  then  sayest  thou  of  her?  And  this 
mey  said,  tempting  him,  that  they  might  have  whereof 

8l 


IV-41 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


to  accuse  him.  But  Jesus  stooped  down,  and  with  his 
finger  wrote  on  the  ground.  But  when  they  continued 
asking  him,  he  lifted  up  himself,  and  said  unto  them, 
He  that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  first  cast  a 
stone  at  her.  And  again  he  stooped  down,  and  with  his 
finger  wrote  on  the  ground.  And  they,  when  they  heard 
it,  went  out  one  by  one,  beginning  from  the  eldest,  even 
unto  the  last:  and  Jesus  was  left  alone,  and  the  woman, 
where  she  was,  in  the  midst.  And  Jesus  lifted  up  him- 
self, and  said  unto  her.  Woman,  where  are  they?  did  no 
man  condemn  thee?  And  she  said,  No  man.  Lord.  And 
Jesus  said.  Neither  do  I  condemn  thee:  go  thy  way; 
from  henceforth  sin  no  more.] — ^John  8:  i-ii. 

Perhaps  the  best  instance  we  have  of  Blake's  violent 
assaults  upon  binding  convention  is  to  be  found  in  his 
poem  called  "The  Everlasting  Gospel."  Here,  in  his  own 
characteristic  way,  he  sets  out  to  deny  one  by  one  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  pulpit  Christ  of  his  day.  His 
exordium  is  a  promise  of  stormy  times  to  follow: 

■  "The  vision  of  Christ  that  thou  dost  see 
Is  my  vision's  greatest  enemy  .  .  . 
Thi'ne  is  the  friend  of  all  mankind, 
Mine  speaks  in  parables  to  the  blind ; 
Thine  loves  the  same  world  that  mine  hates. 
Thy  heaven  doors  are  my  hell-gates. 
Socrates  taught  what  iileletus 
Loathed  as  a  nation's  bitterest  curse ; 
And  Caiaphas  was  in  his  own  mind 
A  benefactor  to  mankind. 
Both  read  the  Bible  day  and  night, 
But  thou  read'st  black  where  I  read  white." 


Blake's  vehemence  often  leads  him,  as  it  does  here,  to 
indefensible  and  confusing  extremes  of  statement.  When 
he  assailed  the  conventional  view  of  Jesus  as  "the  friend 
of  all  mankind,"  he  was  probably  recalling  the  cleansing 
of  the  temple  and  the  denunciation  of  the  Pharisees.  The 
"gentle  Jesus,  meek  and  mild,"  of  current  religion  seemed 
to  Blake  a  mere  caricature.  He  perceived  that  an  undis- 
& 


i 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL  [V-jj 

criminating  lenity  was  not  a  genuine  feature  of  the  eosoel 
^rtra.t;  yet  Jesus  was  "the  friend  of  all  manWnd^and 
Blake  seems  not  to  have  perceived  that  Jesus  lovid  th, 
very  men  he  chastised.  ^  ^  '"* 

In  this  forthright  way,  Blake  proceeds  to  attack  the 
outstanding  characteristics  of  the  popular  Christ  Was 
&  M  "^'^  '^  '='^^^''-  WashehumWe?  And 
serv'ile  Te.V  V"\'^''"''  '^'  pusillanimous,  decorous! 
servile  Jesus  whom  he  supposed  the  contemporary  pulpi 

r  J^'1:  IV'  '■'"  '''^'  ">«*  adjectives,  gentle  Se 
A«mW.  had  for  Blake  an  offensive  meaning.^else  he  S 
hardy  have  used  them  in  his  attack  ui^n  the  current 
rehg.on.  Yet  Jesus  was  gentle,  chaste,  and  humble  in  the 
strictest  sense.  But  properly  understood,  in  thfchrist  an 
vocabulary  gentleness  does  not  mean  W/L«  and 
selUbL'"'  rl  "T  ^-''"*«--  while  hutflj'is  not 

This   undiscriminating   vehemence   of   Blake   robs   his 

he^H   t  A  ,!  "'''^'  ^^  ■"""=:  ''"'  'he  people  whom 

matter  ^ft-  "'°"'\"''"':'"y  "=^  '^'^  manner^nd  th^ 
matter  of  h.s  speech  against  him;  and  would  indeed  be 
ab  e  to  do  so  wUh  a  tolerable  show  of  plausibility.  Never! 
theless  he  understood  the  essemial  quality  of  Jesus  far 
more  cle,rly  and  told  it  far  more  vividly  than  the  con 
.7,nn- "''  ^u-'f'H  °'  *"'^  "'^y-  H^  «««^hed  through  the 
esus  "fd?'^-  °''r'f  '^'  P'"°"*'  °"'"""  °f  the  man 
Jve   h,„  f^'';°,r''  !,  ^^.''  '""^^  convincing  and  attrac- 

;h/JiXl"ntu"y.""'"'"^^''"«  "'•=°'°^'=^'  '^^-^  "^ 
Fifth  Week,  Fifth  Day 

83 


IV-sJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


law,  till  all  things  be  accomplished.  Whosoever  there- 
fore shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and 
shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven:  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  he 
shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I 
say  unto  you,  that  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed 
the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  into  the   kingdom  of  heaven.— Matt. 

5:  1 7-30. 

In  that  extraordinary  production,  "The  Marriage  ot 
Heaven  and  Hell,"  Blake  says,  "Jesus  was  all  virtue,  and 
acted  from  impulse,  not  from  rules."  Here  we  have  a 
clue  to  Blake's  criticism  of  the  conventional  picture  of 
Jesus. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthe\  Jesus,  in  quoting  tht 
commandment  "Thou  shalt  not  murder,"  goes  on  to  point 
out  that  the  spirit  of  this  commandment  forbade  the  anger 
which  leads  to  murder,  and  the  offense  which  leads  to 
the  anger.  Similarly,  He  says  that  the  commandment 
which  forbade  the  adulterous  act  also  forbade  the  adul- 
terous thought. 

Now,  men  are  apt  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  supposing  that 
the  provisions  of  law  define  their  moral  obligations.  They 
come  to  think  that  the  whole  duty  of  man  is  c.iclosed 
within  the  letter  of  the  law  and  this  habit  of  emphasizing 
the  letter  of  the  law  is  what  we  call  legalism.  The  classic 
representatives  of  this  spirit  were  the  Pharisees  and 
Scribes  of  the  New  Testament;  and  what  Jesus  does  in 
the  fifth  of  Matthew  is  to  show  that  the  spirit  of  the  law 
must  and  does  go  far  beyond  the  letter.  But  the  letter 
of  the  law  acts  as  a  curb  upon  the  true  spirit  of  moral 
goodness.  This  spirit  is  essentially  an  original  and  crea- 
tive thing.  It  is,  to  use  Blake's  word,  an  impulse.  It  is 
something  which  is  forever  trying  to  outdo  its  own  best. 
It  recognizes  no  limits  to  its  scope.  It  does  not  break 
the  law,  but  transcends  it,  though  to  a  narrow  mind  it 
sometimes  seems  to  break  the  law,  as  Jesus  seemed  to  do 
when  He.  healed  on  the  Sabbath  Day. 


THE  POUT  AS  REBEL 


lV-51 


I  his  was  what  Blake  pcrcdved.  He  said  that  men 
supposed  moral  goodness  to  be  an  affair  of  observinir  a 
code  of  rijles;  and  he  said  that  .esus  insisted  that  the 
code  of  rules  was  a  smaller  thing  than  the  inward  spirit 

mpulse.  The  aw  is  good  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  shows 
the  way;  but  when  we  regard  it  as  a  terminal/as  /com! 
plete  summary  of  moral  right,  then  it  becomes  an  evil 

But  Blake  saw  more  than  this.  He  saw  that  just  as  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  exalted  the  letter  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  so  the  preachers  and  teachers  of  his  time  treated 
the  words  of  Jesus  with  a  literalism  which  converted  them 

Jr  L*,"'''J'"'=  "'^'  '''  J""^  """"^-^'f  •'="»  ^-"'"e  to  be 
reated  in  the  very  way  against  which  He  protested  in 
he  case  of  Moses  A  Christian  legalism  hau  superseded 
the  Jewish,  with  the  same  results.  The  Gospel  of  grace 
had  become  a  hard  system  of  law,  with  prohibitions  and 
punishments.  In  the  Fourth  Book  of  "Jerusalem,"  he  sees 
U  !  A  °1  ■  "^^'^^  'levoured  "all  things  in  its  loud 

fury  and  devouring  course"  and  was  told  it  was   "the 
wheel  of  religion." 

"I  wept  and  said,— is  tnis  the  law  of  Jesus, 
Ihis  terrible  devouring  sword  turned  every  way' 
He  answered:  Jesus  died  because  He  strove 
Ag:amst  the  current  of  this  Wheel:  its  name  is 
Caiaphas,  the  dark  Preacher  of  Death 
Of  sin,  of  sorrow,  and  of  punishment  •' 
Opposing  Nature!   It  is  Natural  Religion:' 
But  Jesus  IS  the  bright  Preacher  of  Life 
treating  Nature  from  this  fiery  Law 
Oy  self-denial  and  Forgiveness  of  Sin. 
Oo  therefore,  cast  out  devils  in  Christ's  name 
Heal  the  sick  of  spiritual  disease, 
__^ity  the  evil ;  for  thou  art  not  sent 


!  luf  reme 


8s 


III 


If'" 


1*, 


[V-6] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


To  smite  with  terror  and  with  punishments 
Those  who  are  sick,  like  to  the  Pharisees, 
Crucifying  and  encompassing  sea  and  land 
For  proselytes  to  tyranny  and  wrath. 
But  to  the  publicans  and  harlots  go. 
Teach  them  true  happiness,  but  let  no  curse 
Go  out  of  thy  mouth  to  blight  their  peace. 
For  Hell  is  opened  to  Heaven ;  thine  eyes  behold 
The  dungeons  burst,  and  the  prisoners  set  free." 

Law  works  through  judgment  and  punishment;  Blake  saw 
that  the  Gospel  worked  through  judgment  and  mercy.  It 
does  not  condone  sin ;  but  its  remedy  for  it  is  forgiveness 
It  allows  moral  evil  to  reap  its  harvest  of  sorrow;  but 
It  conquers  it  by  mercy.  And  it  was  to  restore  to  Chris- 
tianity its  true  character  as  the  Gospel  of  grace  and  mercy 
that  Blake  labored  so  passionately,  in  contrast  to  ths  arid 
and  respectable  legalism  that  passed  for  Christianity  in 
his  day. 

Fifth  Week,  Sixth  Day 

And  he  (aid  unto  his  disciples,  It  is  impossible  but  that 
fhr'i^.^Lt"''  Z^  "umbUng  should  come:  bat  woe  unto  him, 
ttrough  whom  they  com*  I  It  were  well  for  him  if  a 
millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  he  were 
thrown  into  the  sea,  rather  than  that  he  should  cause  one 
of  these  little  ones  to  stumble.  Take  heed  to  yourselves: 
If  thy  brother  sin,  rebuke  him;  and  if  he  repent,  forgive 
him.    And  if  he  sm  against  thee  seven  times  in  the  day, 

JUrn'V*":   "u*  t»™  »?»in  *<>  thee,  saying,  I  repent;  thou 
shall  forgive  him. — Liie  17:  1-4. 

"Let  men  be  free  to  be  their  own  true  selves"  is  Blake's 
version  of  the  Gospel.  Emancipate  them  from  the  tyranny 
of  Reason  and  Desire  within  and  from  legalism  and 
dogmatism  without.  Let  the  creative  impulse  go  free, 
creating  what  it  will. 

And  one  thing  it  will  create  is  a  society.  Free  men 
will  instinctively  swing  to  the  pole  of  brotherhood.  It 
was  as  the  embodiment  of  this  society-creating  impulse 
86  I 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL 


• 


And  if  God  dirfh  'ot  t  °Ma„"and^'-   T  "'''  '<"  ">ec? 
E  ernally  for  Man,  Man  could  „o"ex^'?.'5  not  himself 
As  God^.s  Love:  every  kind's To'^L-i^l^a  fe 
In  t|.Divine  Image,  nor  can  Man  exist  but  by  Brother- 

£  i^tliLT  "'^"  '^^•^'■"'-  "*  ■•»  '"«  Hvin,  core  of 

■'"VhtereT"  "^  '"^  °'-"''^  "-'  see  Him  i„  His 
^"^-^ll;  t^Sf^^ -<^ '-=  'Hen  a  Divine  Pami,y 

^"rScTKe!"'  '°  "'  -"^  -"es  to  see  a  Vision. 

Must  see  it  in  its  Minute  Particulars  " 
^?b;^/r  m:;;rt^''S:"«:He  .^i„.e  Particular-, 
saw  men  engaged  in  ml  n/     ^"''.""^  ""''  °^  '»e.    He 
and  calling  Ihfm    aw™  tuf  1''  /'''t''='  ^^"--«"tion: 
matter  but  men.    Every  "^''  ^'  '^  "«  '''vvs  that 

"ParticuUr  is  a  Man.  a  Divine  Member  of  the  Divine 

And  he  goes  on : 

•Xa^ur^well  the  Minute  Particulars;  attend  to  the  Little 

and  here  is  the  heart  of  his  ethics- 
^^rticr^  '°  ^-'^  -  another  must  do  it  in  Minute 
flatted  is  the  plea  of  the  scoundrel,  hypocrite,  and 


k 


■:ti 


[V-7l 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


This  is  surilv  licdr.K-k,  a  real  fixed  point  for  thought  and 
conduct.  True  reverence  for  and  a  right  relation  to  tlic 
living  man,  ni>  iicighl)or— here  is  the  law  and  the  prophets 
For  Blake,  then,  morality  is  the  art  .f  fellowship;  and 
the  virtues  he  extols  are  the  society-making  graces.  It 
is  from  this  that  his  continual  emphasis  on  forgiveness 
comes.  "The  Spirit  of  Jesus,"  he  say^  "is  continual 
forgiveness  of  sins."  And  again,  |jThe  Glory  of  Chris- 
tianity is  to  conquer  by  forgiveness." 

"Why  should  punishment  weave  the  veil  with  iron  wheels 

°f  war  .       .  .      ■  J  (-i,«r„ 

When  forgiveness  might  weave  it  with  wings  ot  t-tieru- 

bim?" 

The  law  of  God  for  human  life  is  reciprocity,  mutuality 
—call  it  what  you  will.  In  a  world  where  men  need  and 
cannot  do  without  each  other,  where  separation  spells 
starvati'--  of  spirit,  the  tempers  and  policies  which  sunder 
men  spring  from  a  kind  of  atheism.  Instead  of  the  heal- 
it'g  and  unitive  influences  which  should  produce  the  so- 
ciety of  his  dreams,  Blake  saw  tie  world  overrun  with 
passions  of  vengeance,  doctrines  uf  purishment,  which, 
while  they  were  supposed  to  repress  the  evil  in  the  world, 
deepened  and  widened  the  gulf  which  dividi  i  man  from 
his  fellow.  Our  human  frailty  makes  it  impossible  for 
us  to  live  together  except  upon  a  basis  of  mutual  for- 
bearance and  forgiveness.  The  true  life  is  that  which 
makes  for  human  brotherhood.  That  man  has  found  him- 
self who  has  learned  to  bind  his  brother-man  to  his  heart 
in  healing,  forgiving,  long-sufifering  love. 

Fifth  Week,  Seventh  Day 

And  1  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  saw,  and  behoW  «  "»» 
with  a  measuring  line  in  his  hand.  Then  said  I,  Whither 
To^t  thoS?  ASd  he  said  unto  me.  To  measure  Jeru- 
salem,  to  see  what  is  the  breadth  thereof  .and  what  is  the 
length  thereof.    And.  behold,  the  angel  that  talked  with 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL 


[V.7J 


mt  went  forth,  and  another  angel  went  out  to  meet  him 
and  laid  unto  him.  Run.  apeak  to  this  young  man  aayinT' 
lerui-lem  ahall  be  inhabited   ^s  viU.iea  without"  an5' 

For"l"«ith'.h''*T'""i"*"^,1  Z  "*"  •"«»  "ttU  hS 
I'or   I.  laith  the  Lord,  will  be  unto  her  a  waii  of  fire 

-zth.Tl:t      ""' "'  *• """' '"  *"•  ""^^^  °"'" 

To  Blake  then,  Jesus  was  the  core,  the  heart  of  an 
..xpanding  fellowship  ot  redeemed  men.  Dante  saw  Him 
as  the  central  plory  of  ti.e  host  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven; 
l.iit  makes  vision  is  f.i  an  earthly  setting.  He  sees  Jeru- 
salem arising  in  England,  in  the  world;  and  it  is  to  be  a 
Jerusalem  like  Zcchariah's,  a  Jerusalem  without  walls— 
so  full  of  life,  so  irresistibly  expanding  that  no  walls  can 
contain  it: 

"In  my  Exchanges  every  land 
Shall  walk;  and  mine  in  every  land 
Mutual  shall  build  Jerusalem 
Both  heart  in  heart  and  hand  in  hand." 

This  is  assuredly  the  "League  of  Nations."  But  Blake 
sees  that  it  k  only  to  be  realized  as  nations  as  well  as  in- 
dividuals practice  fdlowship.  The  old  doctrines  of  sove- 
reignty and  tmpi.e  must  give  way  to  an  ideal  of  reciprocity 
and  cooperation.  To  the  jingo  patriotism  of  his  own 
country,  Blake  addressed  a  pointed  c  estion : 

"Is  this  thy  soft  family  love, 
Thy  cruel  patriarchal  pride, 
Plantii.^  thy  family  alone, 
Destroying  all  the  world  beside  ?" 

The  question  has  not  lost  its  pertinence;  indeed  it  has 
loday  a  wider  challenge.    Imperialism,  Chauvinism,  Pan- 
t-ermanism— all  these  things  and  such  as  these  are  of  their 
'.ifher  the  devil. 
Naturally  Blake  detested  all  forms  of  milicarism. 
89 


.■■11 


m  if 


JV.71  THAT  ONE  FACE 

"The  strongest  poison  ever  known 
Came  from  Casars  royal  crown ; 
Noueht  can  deform  the  human  race 
Like  to  the  armour's  iron  brace. 
When  gold  and  grms  adorn  the  plough 
To  peaceful  arts  shall  Envy  bow. 

AnH  ho  has  much  to  say  on  this  subject  in  the  same 
spJit  But  thirat'tude  in  Blake's  mu.d  was  the  very 
-eve rse  of  a  soft  passivity.  He  was  a  fighung  man;  h.^ 
i~  are  chiefly  borrowed  from  the  battlefield.  To  hm  , 
righting  instinct  was  a  priceless  g.ft  of  t.od;  and  ,  , 

rLedv  as  he  saw  it  was  that  it  had  been  m.sd.rected. 
Greedy  men  had  exploited  it  for  selfish  ends.  It  wa. 
m  .ddied Td  soiled  by  the  spirit  of  hate,  of  revenge  or 
TeSction.    But  to  suppose  that  there  «-'' -^.^^     - 

fying   the   fighting   mstmct   save   ^y   the^    ^^^^^^^^^   -J 

Hi««truction  of  men  was,  to  oiaKt,  mciv 

wa    no  pacifist  in  the  sense  of  desiring  peace  above  al 

Thtncs  else-  what  he  wanted  and  was  ready  to  fight  for 

was'not  pekce,  but  fellowship.     But  that  sort  of  fightmg 

requires  peculiar  weapons. 

slf^et^rrJ^r^Scr^^^^ 

'v^    behold  muUi'tude ;  or  expanding  we  behold  as  One. 

^;'Su:::"tr^;:r:^i^^"^ur  l^nriirHin,, 

S:eh   perfect  harmony  in.  Eden  the  land  ?     'f^.^^,  •■ 
Giving,  receiving,  and  forgiving  each  other  s  trespasser. 

Here  then,  it  is  that  Blake  places  Jesus.  H!=/V]'llnt 
carnation  and  Embodiment  of  the  Divine  Spirit  of  fello.- 
hp  he  source  and  the  channel  of  the  d.v.ne-human  n> 
pX  that  makes  for  fellowshn-.  He  is  t  >e  Soul  "J  - 
Universal  Family,  He  is  the  supreme  manifestation  of  the 
90 


THE  POET  AS  REBEL 


[V.,1 


.rcative  urge  of  C.od  which  expresses  itself  in  many  wavN 
l.ut  L-h.eHy  and  ini.st  gloriously  In  :l,c  creative  cvoluli.M,' 
of  that  society  of  man  which  is  also  the  Kingdom  of  (Jod. 

SUOOESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

Can  you  distinguish  between  Religion  and  Theolojry  an-i 
between  Morality  and  Law?     Which  do  you  think  mo, 
important,  a  living  religion  or  a  sound  theology?     What 
IS  meant  by  the  statement  that  "the  maximum  of  leeal 
«!)ligation  IS  the  minimum  of  moral  obligation"' 

IJo  you  think  William  Blake  was  right  in  insisting  that 
tlie  chief  end  of  man  was  to  be  creative? 

What  is  William  Blake's  message  to  our  time? 

It  has  been  said  that  salvation  meant  to  Zaccha;us  beine 
made  a  member  of  a  family,  his  inclusion  in  a  society  • 
and  Zacchaus  himself  felt  it  to  be  so,  for  he  began  at  once 
to  do  certain  social  acts.  Read  the  story  of  Zacchaius  and 
consider  it  in  the  light  of  Blake's  view  of  Jesus. 

What  are  the  "society-making  virtues"? 


II 


£«. 


!> 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Poet  as  Philosopher- 
Browning 

(1812— 1889) 

We  saw  that  it  was  Browning's  view  that  if  Shelley 
had  lived  he  would  have  become  a  Christian     It  may  be 

fFl?.f ^tr /n'st,^;  r.",:-.s  r  ss 

Tn^s  thoueh    into  the  faith  of  his  poetry;  m  any  ca  c, 

Eits::ir^Trs?-=ofthi 

my  soul  to  its  depths."  That  is  to  say,  things  cam.  to  h.n. 
Se  did  not  indeed  despise  reasoning  processes;  nor  w 
he  like  Blake  in  his  fear  of  reason;  but  he  knew  the  e 
wer  other  avenues  into  truth  than  those  of  accurate 
\nlic  Browning's  faith  does,  however,  stand  out  as  a 
coherenfwhole.'of  which  it  is  possible  to  g.ve  a  fa.rl, 
complete  account  within  narrow  limits. 

Shelley  and  Blake  were  products  of  an  age  of    evoU 
tion,  and  we  have  seen  the  emphasis  they  laid  on  liberty. 


THE  POET  AS  rillLOSOPHER 


[VI-i] 


Browning,  like  his  contemporary  Tennyson,  also  reflects 
an  age  of  revolution,  but  of  a  different  kind.  It  was 
revolution  in  the  region  of  thought.  The  great  advance 
of  scientific  knowledge  had  disintegrated  many  of  the 
accepted  beliefs;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  foundations 
of  life  itself  had  been  unsettled.  Some  idea  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  age  in  which  Browning  and  Tennyson  lived 
can  be  gathered  from  the  circumstance  that  Charles  Dar- 
win was  a  contemporary  of  both ;  and  that  "The  Origin 
of  Species,"  Darwin's  great  epoch-making  work,  appeared 
in  1859,  thirty  years  before  Browning's  death  and  thirty- 
three  before  Tennyson's.  It  was  also  the  age  of  the  great 
agnostics,  Huxley,  Spencer,  and  Tyndall.  who  declared 
that  no  knowledge  was  reliable  except  that  reached  by 
the  scientific  method,  and  since  God  could  not  be  reached 
in  that  way,  it  was  useless  and  futile  to  suppose  that  any- 
thing could  be  known  about  Him  It  was  a  period  of  great 
intellectual  uncertainty  and  unrest;  but  Browning  and 
Tennyson  weathered  the  gale  and  reached  the  port  of  a 
living  faith.  Tennyson  presents  us  with  the  figure  of  a 
sad  but  eager  seeker,  winning  his  way  into  faith  with 
somewhat  hesitating  steps;  but  Browning  seems  rather 
the  strong  man  fighting  his  own  way  through  the  smoke 
and  tumult  of  battle  into  the  clear  air  beyond. 


i? 


£1 


-    il 


DAILY  READINGS 

Sixth  Week,  First  Day 

For  this  commandment  which  I  command  thee  this  day. 
It  is  not  too  hard  for  thee,  neither  is  it  far  off.  It  is  not 
m  heaven,  that  thou  shouldest  say,  Who  shall  go  up  for 
us  to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  and  make  us  to  hear 
It,  that  we  may  do  it?  Neither  is  it  beyond  the  sea,  that 
thou  shouldest  say,  Who  shall  go  over  the  sea  for  us,  and 
bring  it  unto  us,  and  make  us  to  hear  it,  that  we  may  do 
It?  But  the  word  is  very  nigh  »mto  thee,  in  thy  mouth, 
and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou  mayest  do  it. — Deut.  30: 11-14. 

Like  Shelley,  Browning  sees  that  behind  all  things  there 
93 


^. 


IVI-iJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


is  some  one  ultimate  Reality  of  which  they  are  but  the 
manifestations.    This  is  God, 

"From  whom  all  being  emanates ;  all  power 
Praceeds ;  in  whom  is  life  for  evermore, 
Yet  whom  existence  in  its  lowest  form 

Includes He  dwells  mall 

From  life's  minute  begmmngs,  up  at  last 
To  man— the  consummation  of  this  scheme 
Of  being;  the  completion  of  this  sphere 
Of  life.''^ 

This  language  is  capable  of  a  pantheistic  interpretation 
—pantheism  being  the  view  that  there  is  no  other  God 
than  the  totality  of  all  things.  But  Brownmg  was  not  a 
pantheist.  For  though  he  was  a  strong  believer  in  the 
divine  immanence,  he  did  not  '-ientify  God  with  the  uni- 
verse as  the  pantheists  did.  The  pantheists  said,  God 
is  everything  that  is;  but  Browning  said,  God  is  »»  every- 
thing that  is.  And  this  did  not  prevent  him  from  believ- 
ing that  God  was  also  above  and  independent  of  the 
universe. 

"Choice  of  the  world,  choice  of  the  thing  1  am, 
Both  emanate  alike  from  Thy  dread  play 
Of  operation  outside  this  our  sphere, 

says  the  Pope  in  "The  Ring  and  the  Book";  and  the  view 
is  Browning's  own.  God  immanent— that  is,  God  m  us- 
and  God  transcendent— that  is,  God  over  us-hoth  these 
ideas  are  necessary  to  a  full  doctrine  of  God.  It  may 
not  be  easy  to  harmonize  these  two  thoughts  into  a  single 
conception;  but  that  is  simply  because  our  minds  are  not 
capable  of  enclosing  within  themselves  realities  which  arc 
in  their  nature  infinite.  We  cannot  comprehend  God; 
the  best  we  can  do  is  to  apprehend  Him  dimly,  and  the 
forms  under  which  we  express  our  thought  of  God  are 
only  approximations.  They  are  the  best  we  can  do;  and 
they  are  never  complete,  never  final. 
94 


THE  POET  AS  PHILOSOPHER  [VI-2] 

Man  was,  however,  made  in  the  divine  image  •  and  that 
imphes  a  sufficiently  close  kinship  between  the  divine 
nature  and  the  human  to  make  it  possible  for  man  to 
apprehend  in  some  degree  the  self-revelation  of  God. 

"O  Thou  as  represented  here  to  nie 
In  such  conception  as  my  soul  allows, 
Under  thy  measureless,  my  atom  width. 
Existent,  somewhere,  somehow,  as  a  whole;' 
Here,  as  a  whole  proportioned  to  our  sense- 
There   (which- is  nowhere,  speech  nmst  babble  thus!) 
In  the  absolute  mimensity,  the  whole 
Appreciable  solely  by  Thyself, — 
Here,  by  the  little  mind  of  man,  reduced 
To  littleness  that  suits  his  faculty." 

Sixth  Week,  Second  Day 

■^^^5^}^""^°"  justified  by  faith,  let  us  have  Deace 
w.th  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  through  whorS 
also  we  have  had  our  access   by  faith  into  tWs  gra« 

of  God.  And  not  only  so,  but  let  us  also  rejoice  in  ou> 
tribulations:  knowing  that  tribulation  worketh  patience- 
Snffiih  „'"»"»•  PT°''"'°";  ^"d  probation,  hope:  and  hope 
putteth  not  to  shame;  because  the  love  of  God  hath  bein 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  through  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
was  given  unto  us.  For  while  we  were  yet  weak,  in  due 
season  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly.  For  scarcely  for  a 
righteous  man  will  one  die:  for  peradventure  for  the 
good  man  some  one  would  even  dare  to  die.  But  God 
commendeth  his  own  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.— Rom.  5:  1-8. 

Man  then  can  only  apprehend  God  in  "littleness  that 
suits  his  faculty";  yet  he  need  never  know  less  of  God 
than  what  he  needs  to  live  by.  Something  of  God  he  may 
discover  in  himself,  and  something  in  nature;  and  this  is 
a  good  deal. 

"Conjecture  of  the  Worker  by  the  work? 
Is  there  strength  there?    Enough.    Intelligence? 

95 


^■i 


flw 


[VI-2] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


H 


AmolL ;  but  goodness  in  a  like  degree?       _ 
Mot  to  the  human  eye  in  the  present  state. 

And  Browning  goes  on  to  compare  the  revelation  of 
God  in  the  uni^vefse  to  an  isosceles  triangle,  the  wo 
e^mal  sides  of  which,  strength  and  mlclUgcncc.  are  clear 
enouU    but  the  base  of  which,  goodness,  .s  not  n,  sight. 

Nothing  did  more  to  unsettle  man's  faUh  n.  Cod  than 
the  revdation  of  the  fierce  and  bloody  struggle  for  surv.va 
which  Science  had  discovered  in  its  study  of  nature;  and 
ThiU  what  Browning  is  referring  to  here  when  he  says 
S  goodness  is  less 'apparent  in  nature  th:  ,  mte.hgemc 
and  power.  We  know  now,  as  the  contemporaries  of  Dar- 
win dilnot,  that  survival  in  nature  is  at  least  as  mud 
r matter  of  cooperation  as  of  struggle;  but  B^ownrng  ha 
to  seek  evidence  of  the  divine  goodness  elsewhere.  V  h.rt 
is  the  base  of  the  triangle  to  be  found? 

Brownin-  finds  it  in  Jesus.  The  story  of  Jesus  con - 
pletes  God's  revelation  of  Himself.  This  "tale  of  God 
"in  the  world's  mouth"  supplies  the  "mstance 

"Of  love  without  a  limit.    So  is  strength, 
So  is  intelligence ;  let  love  be  so, 
Unlimited  in  its  self-sacrifice. 
Then  is  the  tale  true  and  God  shows  complete. 

This   in  Browning's  view,  is  the  meaning  of  Jesus.     He 

supremely  the  manifestation  of  the  d  v.ne  love     a 
because  He'is  this.  He  is  the  key  to  all  the  perp  W 
problems  which  the  universe  presents.    Our  poet  bel.evea 
what  he  makes  the  dying  apostle  say : 

"I  say,  the  acknowledgment  of  God  in  Christ 
Accepted  by  thy  reason,  solves  for  thee  _ 
All  questions  in  the  earth  and  out  of  it. 

To  Browning,  therefore,  Jesus  is  the  clue  ♦" /he  universe 
and  to  life.     He  is  the  base  of  the  triangle,  H'e  rove  at  o 
of  that  infinite  love  upon  which  all  things  rest,     bhclle; 
96 


THE  POET  AS  PHILOSOPHER  [VI-3] 

had  to  believe  in  an  almightiness  of  love  as  the  basis 
of  all  life;  but  in  his  case,  it  was  a  blind  act  of  faith 
required  by  his  philosophy.  In  B-ownings  case,  however 
this  faith  rests  upon  a  reading  of  the  story  of  Jesus. 

Sixth  Week,  Third  Day 

Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  believe  in  God 
believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you-  for 
I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you,  I  come  again,  and  will  receive 
you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also 
And  whither  I  go,  ye  know  the  way.  Thomas  saith  unto 
him.  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  thou  goest;  how  know 
we  the  way?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  and 
tne  truth,  and  the  life:  no  one  cometh  unto  the  Father, 
™l  w  .iT''  1"  ''?  l'a'l,.'"<'wn  me,  ye  would  have  known 
my  Father  also:  from  henceforth  ye  know  him,  and  have 
seen  him. — John  14:  1-7. 

We  should  do  Browning  less  than  justice,  however,  if 
we  supposed  that  he  regarded  Jesus  merely  as  a  factor 
which  helped  him  to  work  out  his  philosophy.  The  figure 
of  Jesus  had  to  our  poet  a  very  definite  personal  sig- 
nificance. He  has  no  patience  with  the  critics  who  seek 
to  whittle  Jesus  down  so  as  to  make  Him  fit  into  their 
own  private  categories;  or  those  whose  methods  of 
analysis  prevent  them  from  seeing  the  wood  fo'  the  trees, 
who  lose  the  figure  of  Jesus  in  the  details  of  analysis.' 
He  expressLS  some  considerable  impatience  with  the  tend- 
ency in  the  study  of  the  gospels  to  lay  too  heavy  an 
emphasis  on 

"the  ineptitude  of  the  time 
And  the  penman's  prejudice," 

a  process  which  having  "strained  and  abated"  the  story 

"Of  foreign  matter,  left,  for  residuum 
A  Man  ! — a  right  true  man,  however. 
Whose  work  was  worthy  a  man's  endeavour." 

97 


X 

*?';i 


|£| 


^  I 


t 


[VI-41 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


•     It 


To  leave  a  "man"  in  the  story  is  indeed  more  than  some 
critics  have  done ;  but  even  this,  says  Browning, 

"leaves  you — vacuity. 
Thus  much  of  Christ  does  he  reject? 
And  what  retain?    His  intellect? 
What  is  it  I  must  reverence  duly? 
Poor  intellect  for  worship  truly, 
Which  leaves  me  simply  what  was  told 

(If  mere  morality,  bereft 

Of  the  God  in  Christ,  be  all  that's  left) 
Elsewhere  by  voices  manifold.  .  .  . 
Christ's  goodness,  then — does  that  fare  better? 
Strange  goodness,  which  upon  the  score 

Of  being  goodness,  the  mere  due 
Of  man  to  fellow-man,  much  more 

To  God — should  take  another  view 
Of  its  possessor's  privilege 
And  bid  him  rule  his  race !" 

The  poet  does  not  believe  that  the  supremacy  of  Jesus 
could  rest  on  His  morality,  though 

"Morality  to  the  uttermost 
Supreme  in  Christ,  we  all  confess." 

It  rests  upon  His  own  person,  as  He  himself  claimed: 

"Does  the  precept  run — 'Believe  in  good. 
In  justice,  truth,  now  understood 
For  the  first  time'?  or — 'Bf.ievc  in  me 
Who  lived  and  died,  yet  essentially 
Am  Lord  of  Life'  ?" 

Browning  was  ready  to  accept  Jesus  at  His  own  estimate 
of  Himself.  Jesus  is  not  only  the  clue  to  a  true  view  of 
the  universe;  He  is  the  Christ,  who  enters  into  personal 
relations  with  men  and  brings  them  to  fulness  of  life. 

Sixth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me,  and  he  that  re- 
ceiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me.    He  that  receiveth 

98 


THE  POET  AS  PHILOSOPHER  [VI-4] 

a  prophet  in   the   name   of  a   prophet  shall   r.r.i„. 
prophet's  reward;  and  ho  that  receiveth  »  riJK.  "  "'^    " 
in  the  name  of  a  rghteousr^an  shallJeceivl^a  rfX^S^ 

A  faith  is  known  by  its  fruits;  and  if  a  faith  is  validated 

hed.     Brownmg  had  too  true  an  eye  not  to  recosnizc  the 
rageay  of  which  our  life  is  so  full;  but  his  fairenab les 

frnoVan;"  '"^''-f—  -'l  imperfection  of  1™ 
ife  not  a  reason  for  despair,  hut  the  very  ground  of  hone 
or  men  s  future.  Man  is  not  n,  a  state  of^eing  so  much 
as  of  becoming.    Progress  is 

Mnf  r,.,v  1  "^''"''s  distinctive  mark  alone, 
Not  Gods  and  not  the  beasts':  God  is,  they  are 
Man  partly  is  and  wholly  hopes  to  be." 

des^L'"\"nVf''^ '"?;,'  ''"'/'"=  '=^''^=""  °f  his  unrealized 
destiny  and  if  he  falls  and  stumbles  on  the  upward  wav 
what  of  that?  Of  the  failures  and  brokenn'^r  of  We 
Browning  has  two  important  things  to  tell  us- 

i-irst,  that  we  are  judged  not  by  what  we  achieve  but 
by  what  we  mean  and  try  to  achieve.  The  great  olssa^e 
from  "Rabbi  B.n  Ezra  '  is  well  known:         ^        ^       ^ 

"Not  on  the  vulgar  mass 
Called  'work'  must  sentence  pass, 
Things  done,  that  took  the  eye  and  had  the  price 

But  all,  the  world's  coarse  thumb 
And  finger  failed  to  plumb, 
i>o  passed  in  making  up  the  main  account; 
All  instincts  immature. 
All  purposes  unsure, 

amfunt  ""'  "'  ^''  ^°^'''  ^^^  ^*«"^d  'he  man's 


I 


99 


(VI-41 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Thoughts  hardly  to  be  packed 

Into  a  narrow  act, 
Fancies  that  broke  through  language  and  escaped; 

All  1  could  never  be, 

All,  men  ignored  in  me,  .    ,       .    ,        l       j  •• 

This  I  was  worth  to  God  whose  wheel  the  pitcher  shaped. 

And  in  "Saul"  he  puts  the  same  thing  in  another  way: 

"  'Tis  not  what  man  does  which  exalts  him,  but  what  man 
would  do." 

This  is,  of  course,  only  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  put  in  a  inoden.  idiom.    For  faith  is  at  bottom  an 
attitude  of  the  soul,  or,  to  quote  Dr.  Du  Bose  once  more, 
"the   entire   disposition   of  our   entire   selves   God-ward, 
holiness-ward."     We  are  set  right  before  God  when  «e 
set  ourselves  Godward.     Justification  is  by  attitude  and 
not  by  achieven-tnt.    God  accepts  us  for  what  we  desire 
and  long  to  be.    He  judges  us  not  by  what  we  accomplish, 
but  by  what  we  would  accomplish.     Of  course  He  can 
know  what  we  would  accomplish,  only  by  what  we  try 
to  accomplish;  and  even  if  we  fail,  even  then  failure  is 
as  good  is  success  so  far  as  our  relation  to  God  is  con- 
cerned.   It  is  not  the  deed  that  God  looks  upon,  but  tlie 
intention  and  the  motive.     The  workmen  who  went  into 
the  vineyard  at  the  eleventh  hour  got  a  whole  day's  pav, 
because  they  had  been  willing  to  work  all  day  if  someone 
had  hired  them.     He  who  receives  a  prophet  in  the  name 
of  a  prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward.     He  may 
have  no  prophetic  gift  and  may  never  utter  a  prophetic 
word    but   just   because   he    gives   bed   and   board   to  a 
prophet  simply  because  he  is  a  prophet,  he  shows  the  kind 
of  company  he  wishes  to  keep.    That  is  where  he  desires 
to  belong;  and  God  counts  him  as  belonging  there.     \\e 
nre  judged  not  !>v  the  great  things  we  say  or  do,  hut  liy 
che  company  we  keep,  the  purposes  we  cherish,  the  kin( 
of  universe  in  which  we  desire  to  live.    That  is  a  comfort. 

100 


THE  POET  AS  PIIILOSOPIIEK  (VI-sJ 

Sixth  Week,  Fifth  Day 

But  we  have  thii  treaiure  in  earthen  veiieli,  that  the 
exceeding  sreatness  of  the  power  may  be  of  God.  md 
not  from  ourselves;  we  are  pressed  on  every  side  yet 
not  straitened;  perplexed,  yet  not  unto  despair ;  pursued 
yet  not  forsaken;  smitten  down,  yet  not  destroyed:  al- 
ways bearmg  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  Jesus,  that 
ttie  life  also  of  Jesus  may  be  manifested  in  our  body 
For  we  which  live  are  alway  delivered  unto  death  for 
Jesus  sake,  that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  may  be  manifested 
m  our  mortal  flesh.  So  then  death  worketh  in  us  but 
life  m  you.  But  having  the  same  spirit  of  faith,  accord- 
ing to  that  which  is  written,  L  believed,  and  therefore  did 
1  speak;  we  also  believe,  and  therefore  also  we  speak- 
knowing  that  he  which  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus  shall 
raise  up  us  also  with  Jesus,  and  shall  present  us  with  you 

u?i-  5'"#^  are  fcr  your  sakes,  that  the  grace,  being 
multiplied  through  th  many,  may  cause  the  thanksgiving 
to  abound  unto  the  glory  of  God. 

Wherefore  we  faint  not;  but  though  our  outward  man 
18  decaying,  yet  our  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day 
For  our  light  aflliction,  which  is  for  the  moment,  worketh 
tor  us  more  and  more  exceedingly  an  eternal  weight  of 
glory;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen, 
but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen:  for  the  things  which 
are  seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen 
are  eternal. — II  Cor.  4:  7-18. 

The  second  important  thing  Browning  has  to  tell  us  of 
our  human  failures  is  the  sequel  of  the  first.  It  is  that 
our  honest  failures  are  really  guarantees  of  final  success. 

"And  what  is  our  failure  here  but  a  triumph's  evidence 
For  the  fulness  of  the  days?    Have  we  withered  or 
agonised  ? 
Why   else   was   the   pause   prolonged   but   that   singing 
might  issue  thence? 
Why  rushed  the  discords  in  but  that  harmony  should  be 
prized  ?" 

This  is  the  tricme  of  the  great  poem  called  "Abt  Vogler." 
Yet  though  Browning  is  so  sure  of  our  ultimate  triumph, 
he  does  not  see  us  achieving  it  wholly  in  the  world  of 

lOI 


±   I 


■If 
•  i 


lVl-61 

THAT  ONE  FACE 

time. 

Wc 

are 

moving 

onward ; 

of   this   our 

falls 

ami 

{.tilurc 

ttf     ! 

urc 

us.    But 

the  goal  is 

1    iL- 

not  here. 

A.\. 

1 

,;t 


"Life  is  a  probation  and  the  earth  no  goal 
But  starting  point  of  man." 

Our  perfect  destiny  lies  beyond  the  veil.  The  poet's  faith 
ill  the  future  life  was  due  to  his  sense  of  the  sheer  in- 
destructibility of  that  strange  and  wonderful  thing,  per- 
sonality; arid  since  personality  may  not  achieve  its  fulness 
here,  well  then,  it  is  awaiting  it  over  there. 

"There  shall  never  be  one  lost  good  I   What  was,  shall  live 
as  before, 
The  evil  is  null,  is  nought,  is  silence  implying  sound; 
What  was  good  shall  be  good,  with,  for  evil,  so  much 
good  more ; 
On  the  earth  the  broken  arcs;  in  the  heaven,  a  perfect 
round." 

This  sane,  unyielding  optimism  Browning  derived  from 
his  sense  of  the  meaning  of  Jcsjs.  (jod  revealed  in  Christ 
is  essential  Love ;  and  that  meant  that,  as  Pippa  sang, 

"God's  in  his  h;:aven — 
Air's  right  with  the  world  I" 

but  it  meant  no  less  that 

"The  mightiness  of  love  was  curled 
Inextricably  round  about" 

all  the  life  and  process  of  the  world.  Love  underlies  and 
governs  the  movement  of  all  things;  and  in  a  world  thus 
governed,  it  is  always  the  best  that  ultimately  happens. 

Sixth  Week,  Sixth  Day 

God,  having  of  old  time  spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the 
prophets  by  divers  portions  and  in  divers  manners,  hath 
at  the  end  of  these  days  spoken  unto  us  in  his  Sot^..  whom 

103 


THE  POET  AS  PIULOSOPHER  ivi-b) 

M.jeity  on  high.-keb.  ,  f  HJ.  °"  *'"  "«''t  hand  o™h. 

»."pmL?'„;li"  „?r\;!;='\-;|f««'cf  !°  B-wning  this 
answer  to  this  .juesfion  n  ost  ro  l'  °  "^'^  ''''"°^"  "'e 
IJavid  in  this  poem  ''is  occupied  ^i/h  '"  ""  P""^"'  '"S''""-" 
t'on,  but  with  the  I.rlc3  ll  1  '"J  ^"'^'••"'"tive  qucs- 
^"ul."  He  sweeps  the  univ'  J  ,  ,"J  .°^  "=>•■"■*.'  ^  ru'ncd 
of  heahng  for  th'e  kC  B  it"?s  ir  °""  •^''"'  "'  "--^^ 
lurns  to  God.     He  had  him,  .tJ  i  '"  ''*'""•     Then  •-; 

soul  for  Sanl-s  redemmion     wl    ^^'"  T"""^  '°  ^'^e  his 
Hi™  to  this  wi„i„,  sXTcrifi^elels'^h'rilr'^'"^'''' 

^-^^■Hi°-K-^---u,ti^ 

.^^iS'^th'J^^rr.'Bt;  Sd'h'adr.:^''^''  ^-  ^-''-  •>- 

the  love.  '  ^°''  ^^^  'he  power  as  well  as 

■""■-iirsfoir «™ ""  ■  I""'  So  „„„„  ,»„, 

"  ?>ves.  What  man's  love  would  do  ^P?"  *"h  ^hat 
"suredly  do-and  more.    WhL  T  M   p.  '°ve  would 

God  that  little  boys  sav  their  nr,  ."^  '^^^  '"'^t  the 

'""ch  like  their  mo  he%  he  s^„T"  '°  ^^'  ^  ^^«  very 
^^ent  in  another  way  David  1"^  P""'"^  ^^^^i^'^  "gu- 
'he  Godhead.  -^^  "*  '"''"  ''"^  fi"ds  his  flesh  in 


I, 


IQ3 


lVI-71 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


"O  Saul,  il  shall  be 
A  Face  like  my  face  that  receives  thee ;  a  Man  like  to  mc 
Thou  Shalt  love  and  be  loved  by,  for  ever:  a  Hand  like 
this  hand  .      i     e       u 

Shall  throw  open  the  gates  of  new  life  to  thee  I    Se"!  the 

Christ  stand!" 
David  apprehends  the  eternal  humanity  of  God;  and  it 
was  this  etcrn;i'  humanity  that,  according  to  Browning, 
came  into  the  .  Ul  in  the  person  of  Jesus.  The  Incarna- 
tion is  the  ncce>-ary  se<iuel  to  the  poet's  thought  of  God. 
Since  it  is  God's  will  to  reveal  Himself  to  man,  and  sinte 
He  made  man  in  His  own  image.  His  jMirfect  revelation 
must  be  through  and  in  a  man,  if  man  is  to  understand 
it.  And  so  the  "Word  l)ecame  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us.' 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  Browning  finds  the 
crowning  point  of  Jesus'  .story  in  His  death;  here  is  that 
unlimited  self-sacrifice  which  shows  "love  without  a  limit." 
Calvary  v/as  that 

"transcendent  act 
Beside  which  even  the  creation  fades 
Into  a  puny  exercise  of  power." 


Sixth  Week,  Seventh  Day 


For  this  cause  we  also,  since  the  day  we  heard  it,  do 
not  cease  to  pray  and  make  request  for  you,  that  ye  may 
be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  his  wiU  in  all  »Pi"tual 
wisdom  and  undei  itanding,  to  walk  worthily  of  the  Lord 
unto  all  pleasing,  bearing  fruit  in  every  good  work,  and 
increasing  in  the  knowledge  of  God;  strrngthened  with 
all  power,  according  to  the  might  of  his  glory,  unto  all 
patience  and  longsuffering  with  joy;  giving  thanks  unto 
the  Father,  who  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light;  who  delivered  us  out 
of  the  power  of  darkness,  and  translated  us  into  the  king- 
dom of  the  Son  of  his  love;  in  whoni  we  have  our  redemp- 
tion, the  forgiveness  of  our  sins:  who  is  the  image  of  the 
invisible  God  the  firstborn  of  all  creation;  for  in  ha 
were  all  things  created,  in  the  heavens  and  "PO"  ;"« 
earth,  things  visible  and  things  invisible,  wh*ther  thrones 
or  dominions  or  principalities  or  powers;  all  things  have 
IC4 


THE  POET  AS  PHILOSOPHER  fVI-y) 

h.ve  the  preeminence  For  It  w,"  «^.«S  ni '"'■''* 
.°n« M  '"'".r  that  In  him  .hoild  "l  ft'.  fuI„«.'"dVe"u- 
«na  through  him  to  reconcile  ell  thinn  imt2  hIml.iV 

coi!7:  ,T.'o^*  "•"='  ""*•"«''  *•  wo.l3*;f"w;  Ji?.*;!!: 

While  the  Incarnation  has  thus  its  larger  place  and 
meaning  ,n  the  sum  of  things,  the  love  of  God  in  Chrfst 
has  also  a  personal  significance  for  the  individual.     I 
s  the  assurance  of  mercy  for  the  contrite,  and  the  promise 
of  the  soul  s  salvation.    "Saul  the  mistake,  Saul  the  fail- 

ZLTLr^  *"'  ''""  '"  ^^''"''  »»"'  Browning  is  not 
forgetful  that  unrepented  .vil  must  make  Chrift  other 
than  Savour.  "Jo*-  ,  the  Master  of  the  Temple  of  God  " 
was  bemg  burnt  m  Paris  for  his  misdeeds  and  in  hi, 
Jenhem''  °"  ^^"''-     ^"*  ''  "  "°*  '^'^  "^  of  a 

"^°n^Ju^r      '*u  "°* 'hrough  the  fire  amain 
T„  .K    «  *  ''f  ^^^  '^'"■"''  *'<''.  a"  his  life— 

To  the  Persoi     e  hP.d  boueht  and  sold  again- 

for  the  Face,  *ith  his  daily  buffets  rife— 
beature  by  feature.  It  took  its  place, 

And  his  voice  like  a  mad  dog's  chok'ng  bark 
rtt  the  steady  whole  of  the  Judge's  face- 
Died.    Forth  John's  soul  flared  into  the  dark." 

The  tragedy  of  impenitence  is  that  it  turns  the  merciful 
.Saviour  into  the  unrelenting  Judge. 

But  this  is  not  "the  face  of  Jesus  Christ"  which  Brown- 
ing saw  for  himself.    It  is  another;  and  its  true  parallel 
■»  to  be  found  m  the  writings  of  St.  Paul 
,..      .  2/°«'"i"«  find  in  Jesus  the  clue  to  a  satisfying 
account  of  the  universe?    So  does  St.  Paul;  for  "in  hL  " 

Wdder-'  '  ^""^  *"  ****  "■***•"■««  of  wisdom  and  knowledge 
105 


m 


t- . 


[VI-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


■If 


'M. 


Does  Browning  see  in  Christ  the  crown  and  destiny  of 
all  things  in  the  universe  and  out  of  it  ?  No  less  does  St. 
Paul,  who  declares  that  God  purposed  "to  sum  up  all 
things  in  Christ,  the  things  in  the  heavens,  and  the  things 
upon  the  earth." 

Does  Browning  find  in  Christ  the  fulfilment  of  the  per- 
sonal life?  So  also  does  St.  Paul,  who  cried  out,  "I  live; 
and  yet  no  longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 

Shall  we  wonder,  then,  that  Browning  should  have  so 
seen  Jesus  that  he  says  of  His  face: 

"That  one  Face,  far  from  vanish,  rather  grows, 
Or  decomposes  but  to  recompose, 
Become  my  universe  that  feels  and  knows  ? 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

Why  should  the  conception  of  evolution  have  unsettled 

men's  faith?  r  ^  j..  u      k 

The  expression  "the  eternal  humanity  of  God  has  been 
used  in  this  week's  discussion.  Is  this  a  true  conception, 
and  how  dt,is  it  bear  on  the  statement  that  "God  made 
ffi-'n  in  His  own  image"?  . 

Discuss  the  interpretation  of  "justification  by  faith 
given  in  the  Fourth  Day's  reading. 

Collect  the  New  Testament  passages  in  which  the  com- 
ing and  death  of  Jesus  are  used  to  prove  God's  love;  and 
compare  them  with  Browning's  view. 


io6 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  Poet  as  Seeker— Tennyson 

(1809— 1892) 

farther  and  believerf  .hi?  -  ,^""'  '"^^  went 

.1...  .1.=  fl,.  S  Sl'''i'iTdiLd  "f' '«"■"• 

arose  which  claTmed  th.t  ^k'"^  .P'°"="'"-  ^  school 
adequate  and  travel  o  tmh"  f  H  "f  °'  "^^  ""= 
not  thus  ascertained  was  unSb.e"'/o'lr'"" 
Tennyson  did  not  assent.  He  he  d  hat  ther.  °''""°" 
things  which  were  t,-„»     u- 1  '"^"^^  ^^'■e  some 

and  these   things   are  to  hi   //"  "T^'^  "°'  *"=  ^^<'^^''' 
where  he  couM  nnt  n,n     X*^''^^^''-     And,   "believing 

the  foothold  of  fa"tL'''    ^'""^"°"  ^''^  "°'  ««"q-^'> 

107 


:!! 


1^  I N 


IVII-i] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Some  of  his  great  contemporaries,  however,  came  tc 
profess  agnosticism.  Since,  they  argued,  it  is  impossible 
to  demonstrate  scientifically  anything  about  God,  or  even 
to  prove  His  existence,  let  us  say  frankly  that  we  do  not 
know.  To  many  people  this  appeared  to  be  the  only 
honest  way  out  of  the  difficulty;  and  so  set  in  the  age  of 
agnosticism. 

But  Tennyson  did  not  succumb  to  this  pressure,  though 
he  felt  the  weight  of  it. 

"If  e'er  when  faith  had  fallen  asleep  _ 
I  heard  a  voice  'Believe  no  more,' 
And  heard  an  ever-breaking  shore 
That  tumbled  iti  the  godless  deep, 

A  warmth  within  the  breast  would  melt 
The  freezing  reason's  colder  part, 
And  like  a  man  in  wrath  the  heart 

Stood  up  and  answered,  I  have  felt." 

Tennyson  would  not  have  feeling  usurp  the  place  of 
reason,  as  reason  tended  to  usurp  the  legitimate  place  of 
feeling.  He  would  have  each  be  in  its  own  place  doing 
its  own  work. 

Tennyson,  therefore,  stands  between  the  old  faith  and 
the  new  knowledge ;  and  he  is  peculiarly  the  poet  of  recon- 
ciliation. He  tries  to  bind  the  old  and  the  new  in  a  fresh, 
living  whole.  He  does  not,  indeed,  succeed;  but  this  is 
a  task  in  which  no  man  has  ever  succeeded.  It  is  a  task 
which  has  to  be  carried  on  all  the  time ;  we  have  to  do 
it  in  our  own  day.  And  Tennyson  supplies  us  with  the 
figure  of  the  patient  seeker,  which  is  a  true  type  of  the 
living  Christian  thinker. 

When  inquiries  were  addressed  to  Tennyson  concernmg 
his  view  of  Jesus,  the  poet  would  say  to  his  son,  "Answer 
them  that  I  have  given  my  belief  in  'In  Memoriam.' 
"In  Memoriam"  was  Tennyson's  elegy  upon  the  death  o 
his  friend,  Arthur  Hallam,  and  is  his  best  known  and 
io3 


THE  POET  AS  SEEKER 


[VII-i] 


DAILY  READINGS 
Seventh  Week,  First  Day 

JeX:  wfth"hrs'dis°ciilct!:°^  a'"^r//t  ''  T"*.  °"'  *""> 
of  Timaeus,  Bartimaus    I  blinH  ^K     *  multitude,  the  son 

the  way  side.  A'id'whVhe"h«rd'fh^"'it''wa/'r'"«  "^ 
Nazareth,  he  began  to  crv  it  an^  I  t  "'  J"^"^  of 
of  David  have  mercv  on  m.  '  1  j  "''•  J*="*>  *hou  son 
that  he  shoi^d  h"d  hfs  pea«-  b,ft"h, """^^^  "'""""^  '''™. 
a  great  deal.  Thou  son  of  oltid  hi!?  "'"*  °"*  **"  "O" 
Jesus  stood  still,  and  said  Call  ,/l  !""=>;  °?  "e.  And 
the  blind  man,  sayiSg  unto  him  b!  ^T'  ^"Ithey  call 
he  calleth  thee  And  he  castW'aS!  °f  «°°d  '^eer:  rise, 
up,  and  came  to   Tesus'     An^^  ^'^  *"*  K^^ment,  sprang 

?sMr  -"^/-  t^at  t^hfcrr^^^^^^    ^1 

the  blind  man  said  unto  him   Rahhnnf   tw  ?  ^° 

Sfth«m^d"e^hJ:e-4h#Sr.|°  t^^^^^^^^ 

his  sight,  and  follo';."dt^  iX";Ty«!llffi\-7'-<^ 

Tennyson   was   largely   moved   by   the   evidence   which 
science   had  produced   of   the   contradiction   between   the 

whom  hrh:r,' '°  '*=  '^r''^ '"  "=>'"-  «"d  thTGodt 

Whom  he  had  been  taught   to  believe      THp   T^h         t," 
youth   was  kindly,   frien'dly;   and   "not  a 'pL^ow  tell  t 

h     new"?.hr'"'r^  ^=""^'--"     ^-'  -•"-  -emeS    n 
he  new  hght  so  callous,  so  careless  of  life,   whether  of 

hakeThe'  '■%°'-  °V'^  ''''■'  «"''  '"  P-ticuhr  did  this 
slSjeringr        '"''  '"  ''"'"-'-"ty-    The  blow  left  him 

"I  falter  where  I  firmly  trod 

And  falling  with  my  weight  of  cares 
Upon  the  great  world's  altar-stairs 
Ihat  slope  through  darkness  up  to  God 


109 


ii 


[VII-i] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


IS 


I  Stretch  lame  hands  of  faith,  and  grope, 
AnH.  gather  dust  and  chaflf,  and  call 
To  what  I  feel  is  Lord  of  all, 

And  faintly  trust  the  larger  hope." 

This  is  the  point  from  which  we  start  out  with  Tenny- 
son. He  fully  accepted  the  scientific  view  of  the  world. 
"The  physical  world,"  says  Professor  Sedgwick,  speaking 
of  the  poet,  "is  always  the  world  as  known  to  us  through 
physical  senses;  the  scientific  view  of  it  dominates  his 
thought  about  it;  and  his  general  acceptance  of  this  view 
is  real  and  sincere,  even  when  he  utters  the  intensest 
feeling  of  its  inadequacy  to  satisfy  our  deepest  needs." 
He  saw,  as  his  scientific  contemporaries  saw, 

"Nature,  red  in  tooth  and  claw 
With  ravine," 

shrieking  against  the  belief  that  God  is  love.  The  "strug- 
gle for  existence"  and  the  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  then 
the  new  scientific  catchwords,  had  drenched  nature  in 
red  blood.  All  this  naturally  led  to  the  conclusion  in  some 
minds  that  no  moral  quality  could  belong  to  God.  He 
was  at  the  best  a  non-moral  artificer,  who  had  set  this 
scheme  of  things  at  work  and  was  indifferent  to  the  cost 
of  its  working.  But  Tennyson  refused  to  settle  down  to 
this  stoical  indifference,  which  seemed  to  many  to  be  the 
only  possible  logical  temper  under  the  circumstancei. 
"Behold,"  he  cries, 

"Behold,  we  know  not  anything; 
I  can  but  trust  that  good  shall  fall 
At  last— far  off— at  last  to  all. 
And  every  winter  change  to  spring." 

Science  should  not  and  could  not  extinguish  the  poet's 
hope;  and  this  hope  sprang  from  the  faith  he  clung  to, 
that  even  yet  the  goodness  of  the  spirit  of  the  universe 
would  be  shown. 


THE  POET  AS  SEEKER 


'"^"^"  [Vir-2] 

About  the  future'abouf  Goj  bom'h?;  "^  °/  P"""^  ='^''="-- 
'ells  us  nothing  that  is  cert'a.n  Thl"'"  ''"""^'  '^^'^'^ 
choose  trust  '-cnain.     ihe  scientist  may  if  he 

Will  K   "''''".^"'"'^''ow  good 
Will  be  the  final  goal  of  ill," 

but  further  than  this,  by  the  he'n  of  v 

he  cannot  go.  '    ^  "^'P  °^  his  science  alone, 


Seventh  Week,  Second  Day 


no?'o?^nrp^  *-/-,2j  'iy-i!»-^  o^  our  Lord 

t™.'^""''  us  with  a  holy  calling  f^'  ^^^o  saved  us 
works  but  accordinK  to  his  o»*'  "°'  ^"ording  to  our 
*"  Riven  us  i„  ChUt  JesuT  b^?;^?°'f- ^""^ «««.  wh?ch 
S^l^  ""^u*!""  manifested  bvth?  *"""  «*"nal,  but 
j^?:'""^.  Christ  Jesus,  who  aboLhed  /''?u"'"8    °^    °ur 

T^ra^r""""-   *°  "«^°  ttou^h"?heX\Wl* 

-Srca7nU":oTttretnti;"  '"^  '^°"^^'  °^  ">e 
were  studying  nature,  they  did  '"f'  """"■^-  ^hile  they 
'0  the  fact  that  man  was  al^  a  n  f ''^  "'°"«^''  *««"'ion 
human  intuitions  and  Tnsti^  ts  are     '  °^  "^"'^•^'  ^""^  'hat 

S«?^S°^  "----^^af  ;=--;;- 

^o'hL^h^>;rinS::?iS:s^,;;'n^'"^od;a„d 

''^^'-f ?     And.   indeed    Eellef     „    ."  ''",!  '°  «"  °"'  'he 
sonalitv  of  God"  cam  .  """      self-conscin,,,    ner- 

—  that  cod  cou^;^rr!-,-^-^^j;e 

III 


(VU-2] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


V   i 


world-self  and  all  in  all";  yet  "I  believe,"  he  said,  "that 
God  reveals  Himself  in  each  individual  soul."  And  here, 
in  the  witness  of  our  highest  intuitions  to  God,  Tennysnn 
found  a  range  of  facts  which  helped  him  to  reconstruct 
his  faith  in  the  face  of  the  destructive  witness  of  science. 
That  God  is  love  is  a  belief  which,  according  to  our  poet, 
we  get  "from  ourselves,  from  the  highest  within  us," 
Observe  here  the  diiTcrence  between  Tennyson  and 
Browning.  Tennyson  recovers  his  faith  from  an  inquiry 
into  his  own  soul;  Browning  has  to  recover  it  from 
something  outside  himself — in  the  witness  of  the  story  of 
Jesus  to  the  love  of  God.  From  this  point  we  shall  be 
led  to  another  of  importance  in  comparing  these  two  poets. 
It  was,  however,  in  his  thought  about  immortality  that 
Tennyson  found  his  master-key.  He  held  that  the  wish 
to  live,  the  desire  for  immortality,  springs 

"from  wh„t  we  have 
The  likest  God  within  the  soul"; 

and  this  seemed  to  the  poet  good  presumptive  evidence  of 
the  fact  of  immortality.  "If,"  he  once  said,  "you  allow 
a  God  and  God  allows  this  strong  instinct  and  universal 
yearning  for  another  life,  surely  that  is  in  a  measure  a 
presumption  of  its  truth — we  cannot  give  up  the  mighty 
hopes  that  make  us  men." 

To  Bishop  Lightfoot,  on  one  occasion,  he  remarked  that 
"the  cardinal  point  of  Christianity  is  the  life  after  death"; 
certainly  this  is  true  of  Tennysoti's  own  Christianity.  Like 
Browning,  he  believes  that  death  could  not  dissolve  human 
personality.  "I  can  hardly  understand"  (to  quote  the 
poet's  conversation  once  more)  "how  any  great  imagina- 
tive man  who  has  deeply  loved,  suffered,  thought,  and 
wrought,  can  doubt  of  the  soul's  continuous  progress  in 
the  after-life."  Tennyson  is  specially  the  poet  of  im- 
mortality and  the  "intimations  of  immortality"  are  ever 
with  him.     This  was  his  master-thought;   and  no  word 

113 


THE  POET  AS  SEEKER  [yil-jj 

i.fe  and  incorrup.ion  to  .ighVtSuS  .ilrg'per  "■""^"^ 
Seventh  Week,  Third  Day 

righteousness,  is-acceptable  to  hta  "tV™'  "2"^  '""•^^"h 
sent  unto  the  children  of  IsrLl^r-Jt'  "°'''*  ''''•=»>  he 
of  peace  by  Jesus  Chris?  (he"  Lo^^dof'"'?f^  «°e''  *''1'"KS 
ye  yourselves  know,  which  w«  nnh.ifu  5"?u~*''**  «»yw« 
Jud»a,  beginning  from  GaliTee  after  th"*  throughout  all 
John  preached;  even  Jesus  of' iSf  ii.'  J^Pt'sm  which 
anointed  him  with  the  HoW  Ghn^^'i*'-  t""  ^at  Ood 
went  about  doing  good  and  healin"''  !?'*>?  power:  who 
pressed  of  t|.e  dfvi!;  tr'^i.^^^:'%-^  ^^J'j:^^  op- 

■n  the  Gospel  man  finds  •*  "^  ^''^^  '^at 

"A  new  truth;  no  conviction  gains 
Ofanoldoneonly.madeintfnse 
«y  a  fresh  appeal  to  his  faded  sense." 

But   Tennyson    found   his   clue   in   himself    ;„    i- 
intuitions;   and   what    Te,i„  ^Ll      "™^^'f'    '"   '"s   own 

"Though  truths  in  manhood  darkly  join 
Deep-seated  m  our  mystic  frame, 

<Jf  Him  that  made  them  current  coin; 
113 


ri 


IVII-4) 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


For  Wisdom  dealt  with  mortal  powers 
Where  truth  in  closest  words  shall  fail, 
When  truth  embodied  in  a  tale 

Shall  enter  in  at  lowly  doors. 

And  so  the  Word  had  breath  and  wroueht 
With  human  hands  the  creed  of  creeds 
In  loveliness  of  perfect  deeds, 

More  strong  than  all  poetic  thought ; 

Which  he  may  read  that  binds  the  sheaf 
Or  builds  the  house,  or  digs  the  grave. 
And  those  wild  eyes  that  watch  the  wave 

In  roarings  round  the  coral  reef." 

"Truth  embodied  in  a  tale"  is,  of  course,  the  gospel  story 
of  Jesus,  "the  revelation  of  the  eternal  thought  of  the 
universe."  And  since  God  reveals  Himself  to  man  anil 
man  is  dimly  aware  of  the  revelation,  it  follows  that  the 
Word  that  had  breath  will  bring  to  light  and  interpret  all 
those  intuitions  which,  according  to  Tennyson,  represent 
the  things  that  God  communicates  to  our  souls.  We  are 
to  find  our  deepest  aspirations  and  longings  perfectly 
exposed  and  expounded  in  the  Incarnate  Word,  not, 
mark,  in  His  teaching,  but  in  His  life,  His  character, 
His  work;  for  "the  creed  of  creeds"  was  wrought  out 
"in  loveliness  of  perfect  deeds."  What  Jesus  does  is  to 
interpret  us  to  ourselves.  He,  by  His  own  life,  brings 
"life  and  incorruption  to  light." 


Seventh  Week,  Fourth  Day 


And  Jesus  cried  and  said,  He  that  beltevoth  on  me,  be- 
lieveth  not  on  me,  but  on  him  that  sent  me.  And  he  that 
beholdeth  me  beholdeth  him  that  sent  me.  I  am  come  a 
light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  me  may 
not  abide  in  the  darkness.  And  if  any  man  hear  my  say- 
ings, and  keep  them  not,  I  judge  him  not:  for  I  came 
not  to  judge  the  world,  but  to  save  the  world.  He  that 
rejecteth  me,  and  receiveth  not  my  sayings,  hath  one 

114 


THE  POET  AS  SEEKER 


[VII-4] 


that  judgeth  aim:  the  word  that  I  spake,  the  same  shall 
judge  him  in  the  last  day.  For  I  spake  not  from  myself; 
but  the  Father  which  sent  me,  he  hath  given  me  a  com^ 
mandment,  what  I  should  say,  and  what  I  should  speak 
Ana  1  know  that  his  commandment  is  life  eternal-  the 
things  therefore  which  I  speak,  even  as  the  Father  hath 
said  unto  me,  so  I  speak— John  la:  44-50. 

Tennyson  constantly  refused  to  commit  himself  to  any 
formal  definition  of  the  person  of  Christ;  but  it  is  quite 
clear  that  no  view  of  Him  would  have  seemed  adequate 
to  Tennyson  which  regarded  Him  only  as  a  unique  human 
figure.  1  o  our  poet,  Jesus  was  the  incarnate  Word,  what- 
ever content  so  amazing  a  description  might  possess 
Tennyson  probably  felt  that  the  whole  significance  of 
Christ,  even  if  it  could  be  apprehended  by  the  mind,  was 
not  to  be  stated  in  a  form  of  words.  More  great  and 
staggering  things  have  been  said  about  Jesus  than  of  any 
other  person  in  history;  and  men  still  go  on  saying  such 
things.  It  would  appear  as  though  we  had  been  twenty 
centuries  trying  to  capture  tiie  whole  meaning  of  Jesus; 
It  still  eludes  us.  It  is  just  what  has  not  yet  been  said 
about  Jesus  that  constitutes  His  real  distinctiveness. 

Tennyson,  it  is  clear,  felt  the  vast  fascination  of  the 
person  of  Jesus  and  stood  with  unshod  feet  in  His  pres- 
ence. "I  am  always  amazed,"  he  says,  "when  I  read  the 
\ew  Testament  at  the  splendour  of  Christ's  purity  and 
lioliness,  and  at  His  infinite  pity."  And  it  was  the  per- 
-on  cf  Jesus  that  Tennyson  found  at  the  heart  of  the 
Gospel— not  His  teachings,  nor  the  kin^  of  philosophy 
ihat  might  be  built  up  around  them.  There  is  a  refine- 
ment of  faith  which  seeks  to  escape  the  critical  difficulties 
ot  the  gospel  records  by  exalting  the  spirit  of  Jesus  at 
the  expense  of  the  historical  figure,  by  magnifying  what 
He  stood  for  at  the  expense  of  Hi?  person— as  though 
one  could  ever  guess  "what  He  stood  for"  without  being 
fairly  sure  of  what  He  was.  This  distinction  Teniiyscju 
perceived  to  be  entirely  futile.  "Christianity  with  its 
IIS 


[VII-Sl 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


divine  morality,  but  without  the  -'ntral  figure  of  Christ, 
the  Son  of  Man,  would  bec^ime  cold." 


Seventh  Week,  Fifth  Day 

Blessed  be  the  God  «nd  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesui 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  every  spiritual  blessing 
in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ:  even  as  he  chose  us  in 
him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should 
be  holy  and  without  blemish  before  him  m  love  having 
foreordained  us  unto  adoption  as  sons  through  Jesus 
Christ  unto  himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
will,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  which  h« 
freely  bestowed  on  us  in  the  Beloved:  in  whom  we  have 
our  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  our 
trespasses,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace,  which 
he  made  to  ibound  toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence, 
having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  ac- 
cording to  his  good  pleasure  which  he  purposed  in  him 
unto  a  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  to  sum 
up  all  things  in  Christ,  the  things  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
things  upon  the  eaiih;  in  him,  I  say,  in  whom  also  we 
were  made  a  heritage,  having  been  foreordained  accord- 
ing to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things  after 
the  counsel  of  his  will;  to  the  end  that  we  should  be 
unto  the  praise  of  his  glory,  we  who  had  before  hoped 
in  Christ :  in  whom  ye  also,  having  heard  the  word  of  the 
truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation,— in  whom,  having 
also  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  ol 
promise,  which  is  an  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  unto 
the  redemption  of  God's  own  possession,  unto  the  praise 
of  his  glory.— l£ph.  1:3-14- 

In  "Saul"  Browning  makes  David  argue  that  lov^. 
whether  in  men  or  in  God,  is  of  the  same  kind  and  woulJ 
do  the  same  thing— so  that  the  revelation  of  the  divine 
love  in  Jesus  was  not  in  a  precise  sense  the  "new  truth 
that  Browning  elsewhere  said  it  was.  But  it  is  in  Tenny- 
son that  we  find  the  most  complete  expression  of  the  tcol 
ing  that  the  revelation  of  divine  love  in  Jesus  was  also 
the  perfect  revelation  of  human  love.  This  is  seen  ir 
the  way  in  which  Tennyson  dwells  upon  the  name  "Son 
116 


THE  POET  AS  SFEKEK 


(VIl-sl 


of  Man";  and  it  is  the  ground  of  an  optimism  which  hr 
ihared  with  his  great  contemporary. 

And  to  Tennyson  as  to  Browning,  though  not.  with  the 
same   entire  certainty,   this  thought   of   the   perfect   love 
revealed  in  Jesus  brought  genuine  relief  from  the  harsh- 
ness of  the  new  revelations  of  science.     The  thought  of 
love  as  underlying  the  movement  of  the  world  might  not 
explam  why  there  can  be  no  progress  without  suffering, 
but  it  helps  us  to  be  patient  anH  hopeful  in  the  faith  that 
the  end  of  everything  must  be  good,     ft  is,  indeed,  only 
such  a  confidence  that  can  keep  us  in  peace  amid  the  con- 
tradictions and  brokemiess  of  nature  and  of  our  own  life. 
Such  a  confidence,  however,  requires  a  great  act  of  faith, 
which  even   more   to   Tennyson   than   to   us   seemed   un- 
warranted in  the  face  of  scientific  knowledge.     And  with 
a  lingering  disquiet  in  his  mind,  which  never  quite  forsook 
him,  Tennyson  made  this  act  of  faith;  and  the  love  he 
believed  to  be  the  ground  of  all  things  helped  him  to 
over:ome   the   unrest   and   doubt   evoked   by   the   tale   of 
science,  the  witness  of  history,  and  the  common  experience 
of  life,  and  to  look   calmly  out   upon  the   future.     His 
optimism  was  not  perhaps  so  robust  as  Browning's,  yet 
his  sense  that  the  world  is  moving  onward  to  some  glorious 
goal  was  very  deep  and  eager.     In  "Locksley  Hall"  he 
had  sung, 

"V  et  I  doubt  not  through  the  ages  one  increasing  purpose 

and  in  the  sequel,  "Sixty  Years  After,"  he  foretells  the 
time  on  earth,  when 

"Every  tiger  madness  muzzled,  every  serpent  passion  killed, 
tvery  grim  ravine  a  garden,  every  blazing  desert  tilled. 
Robed  in  universal  harvest  up  to  either  poh  she  smiles 
Lniversal  ocean  softly  washing  all  her  warless  Isles"; 

and  then,  away  beyond  che  frorliers  of  time,  he  sees  the 
final  end  of  all  in  God : 

117 


i  ;■ 
)  ' 

Ill 


[VII-6)  TH/tr  ONE  FACE 

"That  (iod,  whii-li  cvt-r  lives  and  loves, 
One  (jod,  one  law,  one  element, 
And  one  far-off  divine  event 
To  which  the  whole  creation  moves." 


Seventh  Week,  Sixth  Day 

In  the  beginning  wii  the  Word,  and  the  Word  wii 
with  Ood,  and  the  Word  wai  Qod.  The  lame  wai  in 
the  beginning  with  Ood.  All  things  were  made  by  him; 
and  without  nim  was  not  anything  made  that  hath  been 
made.  In  him  was  life;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of 
men.  And  the  light  shineth  in  the  darkness;  and  the 
darkness  apprehended  it  not.  There  came  a  man,  sent 
from  God,  whose  name  was  John.  The  same  came  for 
witness,  that  he  might  bear  witness  of  the  light,  that  all 
might  believe  through  him.  He  was  not  the  light,  but 
came  that  he  might  bear  witness  of  the  light.  There  was 
the  true  light,  even  the  light  which  lighteth  every  man, 
coming  into  the  world.  He  was  in  the  world,  and  the 
world  was  made  by  him,  and  the  world  knew  him  not. 
He  came  unto  his  own,  and  they  that  were  his  own  re- 
ceived him  not.  But  as  many  as  received  him,  to  them 
gave  he  the  right  to  become  children  of  God,  even  to 
them  that  believe  on  his  name:  which  were  born,  not 
of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will 
of  man,  but  of  God.  And  the  Word  became  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us  (and  we  beheld  his  glory,  glory  as  of 
the  only  begotten  from  the  Father),  full  of  grace  and 
truth. — John  i :  1-14. 

Tennyson  said  that  when  he  used  the  word  love  con- 
cerning God,  he  used  it  in  the  same  sense  as  that  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  And  if  we  are  right  in  saying  that  Tenny- 
son's view  of  Jesus'  mission  is  described  by  St.  Paul's 
phrase,  "He  brought  life  and  incorruption  to  light  througli 
the  gospel,"  we  may  also  say  that  his  view  of  the  person 
of  Jesus  was  identical  with  that  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 

He  calls  Jesus  "Strong  Son  of  God"  in  the  prologue 

to  "In  Memoriam";  and  it  is  interesting  to  recall  that 

he  once  said  that  "the  .Son  of  Man  is  the  most  tremendou.'; 

title  possible."     Son  of  God,  Son  of  Man — so  Jesus  was 

118 


THF.  POUT  AS  SEF.KEK 


fVll^l 


the  hu„,nn,ty  ami  ,1,.  ,livi„i,y  of  Jes„s,  and  turn  h!™ 
as  so  nuny  thcoloKinns  havo  unwillingly  .lone,  into  a  sort 

hLr.^ru'i^iL-"-'^"'- ''° ^^•""^-"  J"-  -' »" 

"''''li^"  secniest  human  and  divine 

The  highest,  holiest  manhood,  thou"; 

that  is  to  say  one  of  ourselves,  a  man  like  one  of  us;  and 
)et  so  high  above  us  that  we  fall  down  before  Him- 

n     °M^  *''"'  arc  ours,  wc  know  not  how 
Our  wills  are  ours,  to  make  them  thine." 

All   that   the   Fourth   GosihjI   attributes  to  the   Word 
Tennyson  ascribes  to  Jesus  Christ.    "All  things  were  made 

Juts       ;  ih  ''  ^'  '""'"'  ""'"•  ""''  '»«=  -""dern  poet 
puts  It  in  this  way:  "^ 

"Tbinc  ure  these  orbs  of  light  and  shade, 
ihou  madcst  Life  in  man  and  brute"; 

the  former  goes  on:  "In  him  was  life;  and  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men.      Tennyson  follows: 

"Thou  madest  Death,  and  lo!  thy  foot 
Is  on  the  skull  which  thou  hast  made." 
"Thou  wilt  not  leave  us  in  the  dust  ■ 
Thou  ■:  idest  man,  he  knows  not  why 
A    ,^J/""'**  ^^  "'as  "ot  tnade  to  die 
And  Thou  hast  made  him;  Thou  art  just." 

ng  into  the  world,     wrote  the  evangelist;  and  our  poet 
iays  the  same  thing  m  his  own  way : 

"Our  little  systems  have  their  day 

They  have  their  day,  and  cease  to  be  • 
I  hey  are  hut  broken  lights  of  Thee 
And  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  more  than  they." 
119 


pi! 


IVII-7) 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Seventh  Week,  Seventh  Day 

But  now  hath  Christ  been  raised  from  the  dead,  the 
firstfruits  of  them  that  are  asleep.  For  since  by  man 
came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  also  in  Christ  shall  all 
be  made  alive.  But  each  in  his  own  order:  Christ  the 
firstfruits;  then  they  that  are  Christ's,  at  his  coming. 
Then  cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  deliver  up  the  king- 
dom to  God,  even  the  Father;  when  he  shall  have  abol- 
ished all  rule  and  all  authority  and  power.  For  he  must 
reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  his  enemies  under  his  feet.  The 
last  enemy  that  shall  be  abolished  is  death.  For,  He  put 
all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet.  But  when  he 
sai:h.  All  things  are  put  in  subjection,  it  is  evident  that 
he  is  excepted  who  did  subject  all  things  unto  him.  And 
when  all  things  have  been  subjected  unto  him,  then  shall 
the  Son  also  himself  be  subjected  to  him  that  did  sub- 

i'ect  all  things  unto  him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all.— 
Cor.  15:  20-28. 

"Who  knows,"  Tennyson  once  asked,  "whether  Revela- 
tion be  not  itself  a  veil  to  hide  the  glory  of  that  love 
which  we  could  not  look  upon  without  marring  our  sigin 
and  our  onward  progress?"  In  the  presence  of  "these 
unfathomable  mysteries,"  humility  and  reverence  are  alone 
becoming.  The  bigotry  of  the  man  who  believes  that  liis 
formula;  contain  all  the  faith,  and  who  curses  those  win 
question  them,  and  the  boastings  of  the  man  who  loudly 
vaunts  his  emancipation  from  the  forms  of  faith,  are 
alike  the  symptoms  of  a  dangerous  pride  wholly  incon- 
sistent with  advancement  into  real  light.  Tennyson  sym- 
pathized with  those  who  held  that  formal  statements  of 
the  truth  cannot  contain  all  the  truth;  and  he  felt  that 

"There  lives  more  faith  in  honest  doubt, 
Believe  me,  than  in  half  the  creeds." 

Yet  it  is  expedient  that  faith  should  be  cast  into  forms 
and  statements,  and  no  harm  is  done  so  long  as  these 
forms  are  only  prt  visional  and  temporary  and  it  is  recog- 
nized that  they  arc  subject  to  change  and  modification  a* 


THE  POET  AS  SEEKER 


[VII-7] 


"knowledge  grows  from  more  to  more."     The  .  ,  .-nre  of 
faith  can  never  change;  that  must  remain  co,  .-ant'tino-E, 
all  the  changes  that  may  come  to  the  forms    t  ,vhi-h  ,u  • 
cessive  ages  have  cast  it,  until  it  at  length  ^n.crge,  fr,  - 
and  glorious,  untainted  by  the  passions  of  me.,,  uf'iiiii.-d' 
by  their  narrowness-that  truth   which  came   by"  Jesus 
Christ.    As  the  spirit  of  faith  grows,  so  will  the  soul  o 
goodness  grow,  until  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  in  religion    in 
conduct,  in  the  whole  of  life,  personal  and  social,  fhall  be 
enthroned   for  evermore.     And  it   is   the   strong,   eager 
yearning  for  this  glad  time  that  he  expresses  in  ;erhfpl 
the  best  known  of  all  his  lines:  pernaps 

"Ring  out  false  pride  in  place  and  blood, 
the  CIVIC  slander  and  the  spite- 
Ring  in  the  lo-     of  truth  and  right 
King  in  the  common  love  of  good.    ' 

Ring  out  old  shapes  of  foul  disease. 
Ring  out  the  narrowing  lust  of  gold  • 
Ring  out  the  thousand  wars  of  old    ' 

King  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace.' 

Ring  in  the  valiant  man  and  free 
The  larger  heart,  the  kindlier  hand 
King  out  the  darkness  of  the  land 

King  in  the  Christ  that  is  lo  be." 

But  while  yet  the  vision  of  the  future  seemed  afar  oS 
the  poet  put  his  trust  in  Christ  for  the  immediate  busi- 

IJJh''     17  °^La"rus,  his  gaze  rested  on  "the  Lif! 
passed,  he  was  able  to  say : 

"I'or  though  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

1  he  tlood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hop  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 
V\  hen  I  have  crossed  the  bar." 

131 


[VII-s] 


THAT  ONE  PACE 


m 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

1.  What  is  it  in  the  story  of  Jesus  that  casts  most  light 
upon  the  problem  of  immortality? 

2.  Can  you  suggest  any  reason  why  Tennyson  appears 
to  take  comparatively  little  notice  of  the  death  of  Jesus? 

3.  "Believing  where  we  cannot  prove."  How  does  be- 
lief differ  from  knowledge  ?  Distinguish  between  a  belief 
and  an  opinion. 

4.  What  do  you  think  Tennyson  meant  by  "the  Christ 
that  is  to  be"  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII 


The  Poet  as  Mystic — Francis 
Thompson 

(1859—1907) 

The  story  of  Francis  Thompson  is  one  of  those  true 
romances  which  are  stranger  than  fiction.  He  was  a 
Lancashire  lad;  and  the  rest  of  the  external  aspects  of 
his  life  can  be  summed  up  in  a  few  sentences.  Too  shy 
and  feckless  to  make  a  priest— he  had  been  born  a  Roman 
Catholic— he  tried  for  a  time  to  study  medicine  at  Man- 
chester and  gave  it  up  because  his  heart  was  not  in  it. 
Then  he  went  in  for  a  soldier  and  was  refused  because  he 
had  no  physique.  After  that  he  went  to  London  to  try  his 
luck,  became  an  assistant  in  a  boot  and  shoe  shop,  and 
afterwards  a  bookseller's  messenger,  and  was  a  dead  fail- 
ure at  both.  Then  he  became  a  seller  of  newspapers  and 
a  caller  of  cabs.  At  this  point,  by  what  might  seem  a 
happy  chance  but  was  in  reality  a  providential  disposition, 
his  genius  was  discovered  and  he  fell  into  the  hands  of 
good  friends,  Wilfrid  and  Alice  Meynell,  who  cherished 
him,  and  so  far  as  his  incurable  eccentricity  would  permit, 
looked  after  him.  Though  he  died  at  forty-eight — nine- 
teen years  after  the  Meynells  had  taken  him  to  their  hearts 
—he  lived  to  write  poetry  which  stands  worthily  in  the 
company  of  immortal  song.  The  story  of  his  early  strug- 
gles is  one  of  singular  pathos,  and  should  be  read  in 
Rverard  Meynell's  "Life  of  Francis  Thompson."  Door 
after  door,  not  only  of  usefulness  but  of  bare  subsistence, 
123 


ivm-i] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


shut  in  his  face  with  a  sort  of  brutal  finality ;  and  though 
he  had  weaknesses  he  might  have  overcome  and  habits 
he  need  nevr  have  contracted,  one's  pity  for  him  never 
fails.  He  was  cursed  with  a  certain  obstinate  futility  in 
affairs,  a  .act  to  some  extent  explained  by  the  discovery 
that  never  more  than  a  small  part  of  the  man  dwelt  in  the 
concrete  brick  and  mortar  world.  It  was  his  happy  lot, 
even  amid  his  physical  misery,  to  live  and  move  among 
the  stars.  And  looking  at  his  life  as  a  whole,  pity  be- 
comes an  impertinence.  There  is  room  only  for  wonder- 
ment and  thankfulness.  For  out  of  the  sweat  and  tears 
and  privations  of  London  streets,  he  drew  the  materials, 
if  not  the  inspiration,  of  deathless  song. 

His  music  is  that  of  a  soul  which  dragged  (he  weariest 
depths  of  life  and  drank  the  last  and  bitterest  dregs  of 
its  cup.  There  is  blood  and  anguish  and  iron  in  it ;  though 
the  song  itself  is  in  the  heavens,  it  never  loses  the  clinging 
undertone  of  the  depths.  This  was  a  man  drawn  to  the 
last  edge  of  life,  walking,  as  it  were,  helplessly  upon  the 
utmost  precipice ;  but  his  extremity  became  his  university ; 
and  the  lore  of  that  hard  school  is  the  richest  knowledge 
of  mortal  man.  God  sent  Francis  Thompson  to  tramp  the 
Strand  in  weariness  and  dereliction,  that  he  might  tell 
the  world  how  one  may  see 

"the  traffic  of  Jacob's  ladder 
Pitched  between  heaven  and  Charing  Cross ; 

He  sent  him  to  wander  forlornly  on  the  Embankment 
through  long,  forsaken  nights,  that  he  might  sing  to  a 
gross  and  clay-minded  world  a  song  of 

"Christ  walking  on  the  waters 
Not  of  Gennesaret  but  Thames." 

And  at  a  later  time,  when  he  came  to  survey  the  hard  and 
desperate  road  he  had  traveled,  he  saw  that  he  had  not 
been  the  sport  of  an  ironic  fate  but  a  fugitive  from  the 
divine  love.     It  is  this  acknowledgment  that  throughout 

134 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[VIII-i] 


his  life — had  he  but  known  it — he  had  been  pursued  by  a 
love  that  would  not  let  him  go  that  he  has  sung  in  that 
imperishable  ode  called  "The  Hound  of  Heaven."  The 
poem  is  not  a  fabric  of  arbitrary  or  groundless  fancy,  a 
pious  fiction.  It  is  the  transcript  of  a  living  experience, 
the  story  of  the  lost  sheep  which  the  Shepherd  went  forth 
into  the  wilderness  to  seek,  and  sought  until  He  found  it. 
We  call  Thompson  a  mystic;  but  the  word  mystic  covers 
many  things.  Here  the  word  is  used  simply  to  describe 
one  who  is  familiar  with  the  unseen  world,  finds  in  every- 
thing that  is  a  gate  which  opens  on  the  invisible,  and 
knows  his  way  about  the  world  of  spiritual  reality.  To 
such  a  man  the  things  that  are  unseen  and  eternal  are 
the  supreme  realities,  his  meat  and  his  drink;  and  it  is 
of  such  things  that  Francis  Thompson  sings.  This,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  taken  to  mean  that  the  poet  was  in- 
capable of  reasoned  judgment  upon  men  and  things.  His 
prose  is  full  of  profound  and  penetrating  reflection— as 
it  is  also  of  unusual  richness  of  style.  His  essay  on 
Shelley  was  hailed  as  a  literary  event  of  the  first  import- 
ance when  it  appeared  in  the  Dublin  Review.  Incidentally, 
it  should  be  said  that  Thompson's  essay  on  Shelley  is  also 
an  extraordinary  piece  of  self-revelation— as  indeed,  all 
good  criticism  should  be. 

[Francis  Thompson's  work  in  poetry  and  prose  is  pub- 
lished in  three  large  volumes,  edited  by  Wilfrid  Meynell. 
There  is,  however,  a  small  and  convenient  volume  avail- 
able, "The  Selected  Poems  of  Francis  Thompson."] 

DAILY  READINGS 

Eighth  Week,  First  Day 

In  **"*  ^°^  •=""*  *«  disciplei  unto  Jetui,  uying. 
Who  then  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven?  And 
he  called  to  him  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst 
of  them,  and  said.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Except  ye  turn, 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
mto  the  kingdom  of  heaven.    Whosoever  therefore  shall 

125 


[VIII-i] 


THAT  ONE tACE 


humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  the 
greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  whoso  shall 
receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name  receiveth  me: 
but  whoso  shall  cause  one  of  these  little  ones  which  be- 
lieve on  me  to  stumble,  it  is  profitable  for  him  that  a 
great  millstone  should  be  hanged  about  his  neck,  and 
that  he  should  be  sunk  in  the  depth  of  the  sea. — Matt. 
i8: 1-6. 

The  first  thing  to  bt  said  about  Francis  Thompson  is 
that  he  had  the  heart  of  a  child;  he  had  it  and  never  lost 
it.  In  his  essay  on  Shelley,  he  says :  "Know  you  what  it 
is  to  be  a  child  ?  It  is  to  be  something  very  different  from 
the  man  of  today.  It  is  to  have  a  spirit  yet  streaming 
from  the  waters  of  baptism;  it  is  to  believe  in  love,  to 
believe  in  loveliness,  to  believe  in  belief;  it  is  to  be  so 
little  that  the  elves  can  reach  to  whisper  in  your  ear;  it 
is  to  turn  pumpkins  into  coaches  and  mice  into  horses,  and 
nothing  into  everything;  for  each  child  has  its  fairy  god- 
mother in  its  own  soul;  it  is  to  live  in  a  nutshell  and  to 
count  yourself  the  king  of  infinite  space;  it  is 

'To  see  a  world  in  a  grain  of  sand 

And  heaven  in  a  wild  flower 
Hold  infinity  in  the  palm  of  your  hand 

And  eternity  in  an  hour.'  " 

And  in  this  passage,  he  was  describing  his  own  mind. 
Most  men  as  they  grow  older  lose  the  sensitiveness,  tlie 
faith,  the  wonder  of  the  child  mind,  and  in  their  folly 
deem  that  they  have  become  wise — forgetting  how  great 
things  "are  revealed  unto  babes."  But  Francis  Thomp- 
son never  lost  this  essential  childlikeness  and  it  is  the  clue 
to  his  own  soul.  It  was  because  he  remained  in  heart  "a 
little  child"  that  he  saw  so  plainly  the  kingdom  of  God. 

His  poems  about  and  to  children  are  in  consequence 
full  of  genuine  and  imchanging  charm.  Perhaps  the 
greatest  experience  in  his  life  was  his  admission  to  the 
heart  of  the  Meynell  family,  and  it  is  to  the  children  of 
that  home  that  most  of  his  cbild-poems  are  addressed. 
126 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[VIII-i] 


Probably  he  felt  more  at  home  in  the  company  of  children 
than  anywhere  else;  and  in  the  poem  which  he  wrote  to 
his  godson,  Francis  Meynell,  he  gives  us  an  example  of 
the  quaint  humor  which  must  have  erJeared  him  to  all 
children : 

"And  when,  immortal  mortal,  droops  your  head, 
And  you,  the  child  of  deathless  song,  are  dead ; 
Then  as  you  search  with  unaccustomed  glance 
The  ranks  of  Paradise  for  my  countenance 
Turn  not  your  tread  along  the  Uranian'  sod 
Among  the  bearded  counsellors  of  God ; 
For  if  in  Eden  as  on  earth  are  we, 
I  sure  shall  keep  a  younger  company.  .  .  . 
Look  for  me  in  the  nurseries  of  Heaven." 

But  this  is,  of  course,  much  more  than  mere  quaintness. 
It  is  the  essential  subsoil  of  Thompson's  mind;  and  it  is 
always  natural  for  him  to  sing  in  this  way : 

"Little  Jesus,  wast  Thou  shy 
Once,  and  just  so  small  as  I? 
And  what  did  it  feel  like  to  be 
Out  of  Heaven  and  just  like  me?  .  .  . 
Thou  canst  not  have  forgotten  all 
That  it  feels  like  to  be  small : 
And  Thou  know'st  I  cannot  pray 
To  Thee  in  my  father's  way — 
When  Thou  wast  so  little,  say, 

Couldst  Thou  talk  Thy  Father's  way? 

So,  a  little  Child,  come  down 
And  hear  a  child's  tongue  like  Thy  own ; 
Take  me  by  the  hand  and  walk 
And  listen  to  my  baby  talk. 
To  Thy  Father  show  my  prayer 
(He  will  look,  Thou  art  so  fair,) 
And  say:  'O  Father,  I,  Thy  Son, 
Bring  the  prayer  of  a  little  one.' 
And  He  will  smile,  that  children's  tongue 
Has  not  changed  since  Thou  wast  young." 

'  Uranian,  a  word  our  poet  frequently  uses,  simpljr  means  celestial. 
1-27 


Ivni-2] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Eighth  Week,  Second  Day 

And  Paul  itood  in  the  midit  of  the  Arcopagui,  and 
laid, 

Ye  men  of  Athens,  m  all  thingi  I  perceive  that  ye  are 
somewhat  superstitious.  For  as  I  passed  along,  and 
observed  the  objects  of  your  worship,  I  found  also  an 
altar  with  this  inscription,  To  An  Unknown  God.  What 
therefore  ye  worship  in  ignorance,  this  set  I  forth  unto 
you.  The  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein, 
he,  being  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands;  neither  is  he  served  by  men's 
hands,  as  though  he  needed  anything,  seeing  he  himself 
giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things;  and  he 
made  of  one  every  nation  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all 
the  face  of  the  earth,  having  determined  their  appointed 
seasons,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation ;  that  they 
should  seek  God,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him,  and 
find  him,  though  he  is  not  far  from  each  one  of  us:  for 
in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being;  as  certain 
even  of  your  own  poets  have  said.  For  we  are  also  his 
offspring.  Being  then  the  offspring  of  God,  we  ought  not 
to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver, 
or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  device  of  man.  The  times 
of  Ignorance  therefore  God  overlooked ;  but  now  he  com- 
mandeth  men  that  they  should  all  everywhere  repent: 
masmuch  as  he  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  the  man  whom 
he  hath  ordained;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  imto 
all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead- 
Acts  17:  aa-31. 

Thompson,  having  the  heart  of  a  child,  was  very  sensi- 
tive to  symbols;  and  the  rich  and  varied  symbolism  of 
the  Catholic  Church  provided  him  with  endless  suggestion 
and  imagery.  For  instance,  he  begins  his  "Orient  Ode" 
in  this  way: 

"Lo,  in  the  sanctuaried  East 
Day,  a  dedicated  priest 
In  all  his  robes  pontifical  cxprest, 
Lifteth  slowly,  lifteth  sweetly 
From  cut  its  Orient  tabernacle  drawn." 

128 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[Vin-2] 


And  this  kind  of  language  is  characteristic  of  his 
verse.  But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  it  was  only 
imagery.  It  was  in  a  very  real  sense  also  interpretation ; 
and  it  raises  a  question  of  some  importance  for  Protestants. 
In  their  revolt  from  Rome  our  forefath  .rs  Icit  almost  all 
symbolism  behind  them  and  came  to  worship  God  in  what 
Father  Tyrrell  has  called  "circumstances  of  sought-out 
plainness."  This  was  indeed  natural,  seeing  that  super- 
stition had  gathered  around  the  rites  of  the  Church.  Yet 
the  fact  remains  that  symbolism  has  its  uses.  During  the 
last  few  years  we  have  exalted  the  symbols  of  patriotism, 
we  salute  the  Stars  and  Stripes  or  the  Union  Jack;  we 
have  even  introduced  them  into  our  churches.  But  our 
churches  are  almost  invariably  bare  of  the  characteristic 
symbols  of  Christianity.  That  may  be  right  or  wrong; 
but  it  is  a  question  worth  thinking  about.  There  are  few 
people  who  do  not  find  i.  symbol  an  aid  to  the  focusing  of 
attention;  the  symbol  might  serve  also  as  an  aid  to  reli- 
gious devotion.  Provided  the  obvious  dangers  of  sym- 
bolism are  recognized  and  guarded  against,  there  is  some- 
thing to  be  said  for  their  restoration  to  our  religious 
practice. 

But  what  is  chiefly  interesting  here  is  that  the  great 
central  symbol  of  Catholicism,  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass, 
became  to  Francis  Thompson  a  clue  to  the  universe.  The 
mass,  because  he  believed  it  to  be  the  continuation  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Cross,  seems  to  give  to  everything  a 
redemptive  significance.  "Thou,"  he  says  to  the  setting 
sun, 

"Thou  dost  image,  thou  dost  follow 
That  King-maker  of  Creation 
Who,  ere  Hellas  hailed  Apo'Io 
Ga  e  thee,  angel-god,  thy  station. 
Thou  art  of  Him  a  type  memorial: 
Like  Him  thou  hangest  in  dreadful  pomp  of  blood 

Upon  thy  Western  rood. 
And  His  stained  brow  did  veil  like  thine  tonight, 
Yet  lift  once  more  Its  light." 

129 


ivi;i-3j 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


.^  To  Thompson,  all   nature   was   sacramental,   full  of  in- 

'  timations  of  divinity ;  and  nature  is  perhaps  too  little  sug- 

gestive of  the  redeeming  grace  of  God  to  us  because  our 
sacraments  have  lost  much  of  their  significance  for  us. 
For  after  all,  all  the  work  of  God  must  be  of  a  piece ;  and 
as  a  modern  mystic  has  said,  "The  Cross  is  thi  ground 
plan  of  the  Universe."  Francis  Thompson's  friend,  Mrs. 
Meynell,  has  put  the  same  thought  at  another  angle  in  a 
,  little  poem  called  "The  Fugitive,"  evoked  by  the  saying 

of  a  French  publicist,  'Nous  avons  chasse  ce  Jisvs-ChrUt," 
"We  have  driven  out  this  Jesus  Christ." 

,  ''-i,  "Yes,  from  the  ingratc  heart,  the  street 

"•-><;  Of  garrulous  tongue,  the  warm  retreat 

Within  the  village  and  the  town; 
Not  from  the  lands  where     |i^n  brown 
A  thousand  thousand  hills  oi  .vheat; 

Not  from  the  long  Burgundian  line 
The  southward,  sunward  range  of  vine. 
Hunted,  He  never  will  escape 
The  fles*!,  the  blood,  the  sheaf,  the  grape, 
That  feed  His  man — the  bread,  the  wine." 

When  we  allow  for  the  Catholic  presuppositions  of  the 
poet,  what  remains  is  this — that  "His  secret  presence  in 
creation's  veins"  is  universal,  and  more,  it  is  redemptive 
in  all  its  reactions.  This  is  the  Immanent  Christ,  who 
^  cannot  be  driven  from  His  world,  who  is  in  and  through 

everything  that  is  in  it  in  order  that  He  may  redeem  it, 
and  this  is  peculiarly  the  Christ  of  Francis  Thompson. 

'  Eighth  Week,  Third  Day 

iO  Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known  me. 
Thou  knowest  my  downsitting  and  mine  uprising, 
Thou  understandest  my  thought  afar  off. 
■Thou  searchest  out  my  path  and  my  lying  down, 
And  art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways. 
For  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue. 
But,  lo,  O  Lord,  thou  knowest  it  altogether. 

130 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[Vin-3] 


Thou  hatt  beiet  mc  behind  and  before. 

And  laid  thine  hand  upon  me. 

f«»el> Joiowledge  ii  too  wonderful  for  me: 

J.%'?  ?'•''•  *  e«nnot  attain  unto  it. 

Wuither  shall  I  go  from  thy  apirit? 

Or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  pretence? 

If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there: 

If  I  make  my  bed  in  Sheol,  behold,  thou  art  there 

If  I  Uke  the  wings  of  the  morning, 

And  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea: 

Even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me, 

^d  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 

1    i  ff''',?^*'y  *•"•  darkness  shall  overwhelm  me, 

And  the  light  about  me  shall  be  night ; 

Even  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee. 

But  the  night  shineth  as  the  day: 

The  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee. 

— Psalm  139:  i-is. 

It  is  probable  that  Francis  Thompson  will  be  best  known 
by  "The  Hound  of  Heaven."  It  is  one  of  those  utterances 
which,  by  their  authentic  and  self-verifying  note  of  reality, 
fix  the  meaning  and  the  truth  of  the  eternal  Gospel  in 
men's  minds  forever.  That  which  can  be  so  sung  must 
be  everlastingly  real  and  true.  Fictions  and  illusions 
evoke  no  such  mighty  music.  There  is  a  poetry  of  the 
imagination  which  has  its  own  peculiar  immortality;  its 
subject  matter  and  end  is  beauty;  its  reaction  is  purely 
emotional  and  esthetic.  But  there  is  also  a  poetry  of 
experience;  and  its  theme  is  life,  reality,  the  deep  things 
of  God;  and  its  reaction  is  to  change  men's  lives.  The 
one  pleases— even  to  the  point  of  ecstasy;  the  other  sweeps 
you  oft  your  feet  or  cuts  down  to  the  marrow  of  your 
soul ;  and  once  you  have  heard  its  great  searching  tones, 
you  can  never  be  quite  the  same  man  any  more.  This  is 
the  class  to  which  "The  Hound  of  Heaven"  belongs.  Not 
that  it  lacks  beauty;  it  is  extraordinarily  beautiful.  But 
here  beauty  was  Thompson's  handmaid  rather  than  his 
mistress.  His  great  personal  (li--covery  was  the  mysterious. 
relentless  love  of  God;  and  in  "The  Hound  of  Heaven," 
It  IS  this  deepest  ihing  of  God  that  he  has  sun^'  in  undying 
131 


1VII1-4J 


THAT  ONE  hMCJi 


song.    He  has  set  the  ultimate  word  of  God  to  the  rarest 
human  music. 

In  dull  prose  the  argument  ot  the  poem  is  this:  The 
spirit  of  man  is  beset  by  an  insatiable  hunger;  and  it  is 
dimly  aware  of  a  satisfaction  adequate  to  the  hunger. 
But  it  is  also  aware  that  this  supreme  satisfaction  is 
unavailable  except  at  the  price  of  a  full  self-surrender. 
But  the  soul  shrinks  from  this  surrender,  because  it  fears 
that  it  entails  the  loss  of  all  the  joyous  and  beautiful 
things  of  the  world.  Unwilling  to  pay  this  price  of  per- 
fect satisfaction,  it  turns  to  seek  it  in  those  fair  things  that 
are  nearer  and  less  exacting— in  human  love,  in  the 
spacious  wonder  of  the  universe,  in  the  innocent  company 
of  little  children,  in  intimate  communion  with  nature.  All 
these  give  promise,  but  deny  the  substance  of  satisfaction 
and  fail  the  spirit  in  its  sore  need.  At  last  the  soul  gives 
up  the  search  in  despair,  and  all  it  has  to  show  for  its 
long  quest  is  a  wasted,  charred,  broken  life.  Yet  all  this 
time  its  patient  Pursuer  has  been  at  its  heels;  and  now  at 
last  the  shattered  and  disillusioned  soul  waits  helplessly 
for  the  coming  of  this  unyielding  and  inevasible  "hound." 
In  its  extremity,  the  Pursuer  finds  it,  and  the  chase  is 
over.  The  spirit  surrenders  to  its  captor,  and  in  its  cap- 
ture finds  the  fulness  it  longed  for  in  the  everlasting  mercy 
from  which  it  was  so  long  a  fugitive. 

Eighth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

O  Lord,  our  Lord, 

How  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth  I 

Who  hast  set  thy  glory  upon  the  heavens. 

Out  of  the  mouth  of  bab;s  and  sucklings  hast  thou  estsb- 

lished  strength, 
Becatue  of  thine  adversaries. 

That  thou  mightest  still  the  enemy  and  the  avenger. 
When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers, 
The  moon  and  the  stars,  which  thou  hast  ordained ; 
What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him? 
And  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him? 


THE  /'OUT  AS  MYSTIC 


IVlll-tl 


For  thou  bait  midc  him  but  little  lower  than  Ood 

And  crowneit  him  with  glory  and  honour. 

Tbou  madeit  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  worka  ol 

thy  handi; 
Thou  haat  put  all  thinga  under  hia  feet: 
All  iheep  and  oxen. 
Yea,  and  the  beaita  of  the  field; 
The  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fiih  of  the  tea, 
Whatsoever  paiteth  through  the  patha  of  the  seat. 
0  Lord,  our  Lord, 
How  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth  I 

—Psalm  8. 

When  the  poet  tells  of  his  failure  to  find  self-fulfilment 
in  human  love,  we  are  reminded  of  how  a  greater  than 
he,  Dante,  cheated  of  the  love  of  Beatrice  Portinari,  set 
out  to  sing  a  more  wondrous  love.  It  was  a  thwarted  love 
that  gave  the  world  "The  Divine  Comedy,"  because  it 
threw  Dante  bacli  on  his  search  for  God;  but  it  is  the 
vanity  of  human  love  for  the  ultimate  human  need  that 
drives  the  fugitive  of  our  poem  away  from  it.  And  when 
he  tells  us  how  he  sought  peace 

"across  the  margent  of  the  world  .  ,  . 
And  troubled  the  uolH  j-jteways  of  the  stars," 

we  recall  what  Kant  ii-  ,,:  i:.at,  next  to  the  moral 
consciousness  of  man,  the  thing  that  moved  him  most  was 
the  starry  firmament  of  heaven.  Here  our  poet  treads 
ancient  and  obvious  ground.  From  the  beginning  n»an 
has  looked  in  the  eyes  of  man  and  in  the  face  of  heaven 
for  the  word  and  the  bread  of  life— yet  ever  in  vain. 
Thompson  strikes  a  new  note  when  he  tells  how  he  sought 
the  joy  he  lacked  in  the  innocence  of  little  children : 

"I  sought  no  more  that,  after  which  I  strayed 

In  face  of  man  or  maid; 
But  still  within  the  little  children's  eyes 

Seems  something,  something  that  replies, 
They  at  least  are  for  me,  surely  for  me  I 

I.T3 


Hr 


[VIII-5] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


And  indeed  here  the  poet  was  not  far  from  the  Kingdom 
of  God — not  far,  yet 

"Just  as  their  young  eyes  grew  sudden  fair 

With  dawning  answers  there. 
Their  angel  plucked  them  from  me  by  the  hair." 

Denied  by  the  children,  he  turns  to  nature.    He 

"Drew  the  belt  of  Nature's  secrecies. 
I  knew  all  the  swift  importings 
On  the  wilful  face  of  skies ; 
I  knew  how  the  clouds  arise 
Spumed  of  the  wild  sea-snortings ; 

All  that's  born  or  dies, 
Rose  and  drooped  with — made  them  shapers 
Of  mine  own  moods,  or  wailful  or  divine. 

Yet  nature  proves  like  the  rest  a  broken  reed. 

"But  not  by  that,  by  that  was  eased  my  human  smart. 
In  vain  my  tears  were  wet  on  Heaven's  grey  cheek, 
For  ah,  we  know  not  what  each  other  says. 

These  things  and  I ;  in  sound  /  speak, 
Their  sound  is  but  their  stir ;  they  speak  by  silences. 
Nature,  poor  stepdame,  cannot  slake  my  drouth ;  .  .  . 
Never  did  any  milk  of  hers  once  bless 

My  thirsting  mouth." 

He  had  knocked  at  every  door;  and  none  had  opened  to 
let  him  in. 

Eighth  Week,  Fifth  Day 

And  he  spake  unto  them  this  parable,  saying.  What 
man  of  you,  having  a  hundred  sheep,  and  havinKlost  one 
of  them,  doth  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  go  after  that  which  is  lost,  until  he  find  it? 
And  when  he  hath  found  it,  he  layeth  it  on  his  shoulders, 
rejoicing.  And  when  be  cometh  home,  he  calleth  together 
his  friends  and  his  neighbours,  saying  unto  them.  Rejoice 
with  me,  for  I  have  found  my  sheep  which  was  lost.  I 
say  unto  you,  that  even  so  there  shall  be  joy  in  heaven 

134 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[VIII-5] 


over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety 
and  nine  righteoos  persons,  which  need  no  repentance. 
— Luke  15:  3-7. 

After  nature  fails  him,  the  fugitive  gives  up  the  quest. 
In  his  frustration  and  despair  he  reviews  his  life. 

"In  the  rash  lustihood  of  my  young  powers 

I  shook  the  pillaring  hours 
And  pulled  my  life  upon  me ;  grimed  with  smears 
I  stand  amid  the  dust  of  the  mounded  years — 
My  mangled  youth  lies  dead  beneath  the  heap, 
My  days  have  crackled  and  gone  up  in  smoke, 
Have  puiifed  and  burnt  as  sun-starts  on  a  stream." 

This  is  all  he  has  to  show  for  all  his  feverish  quest — the 
smoking  ruins  of  his  life.  He  wonders  what  is  yet  to 
come;  and  looking  into  the  mists  of  the  future,  he  sees 
no  goal  or  end  but  the  darkness  of  death. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  is  the  story  of  a  soul 
which  sought  the  ends  of  life  along  paths  in  themselves 
fair  and  lovely.  It  is  not  the  story  of  the  roui  or  the 
sensualist.  John  Masefield,  in  his  poem  "The  Everlasting 
Mercy,"  has  transcribed  the  theme  of  "The  Hound  of 
Heaven"  to  the  key  of  low  life.  There  the  Hound  pursues 
its  quarry  through  the  gutter  and  the  mire;  but  Francis 
Thompson  is  singing  of  a  soul  that  had  not  willingly  been 
stained  with  vice  and  had  not  haunted  the  gaily-lit  high- 
ways of  gross  sin.  He  had  turned  to  fill  the  unfilled 
spaces  of  his  soul  with  love  and  beauty ;  but  he  came  away 
from  the  altars  where  he  had  worshiped  empty-handed. 
For  whatever  he  found  there,  he  knew  he  had  not  found 
the  one  thing  needful.  It  is  just  that  insatiable  hunger 
still  unsatisfied,  that  unredeemed  misery  which  Francis 
Thompson  has  put  into  poignant  verse  in  the  first  part  of 
the  poem. 

The  last  stanza  of  the  poem  tells  of  the  capture  and  the 
surrender.    The  spirit  hears  the  footfall  of  the  Pursuer; 
the  Hound  has  found  its  quarry. 
13s 


./ 


lVIII-6] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


■>^i 


"That  Voice  is  round  me  like  a  bursting  sea : 
'And  is  thy  earth  so  marred, 
Shattered  in  shard  on  shard? 
Lo,  all  things  fly  thee,  for  thou  fliest  Me.'  .  .  . 

All  which  I  took  from  thee,  I  did  but  take 

Not  for  thy  harms. 
But  just  that  thou  might'st  seek  it  in  My  arms. 

All  which  thy  child's  mistake 
Fancies  as  lost,  I  have  stored  for  thee  at  home ; 
Rise,  clasp  My  hand,  and  come." 

"He  goeth  forth  into  the  wilderness  .  .  .  until  he  find  it." 
And  so  this  troubled  soul  was  found  at  last. 

Eighth  Week,  Six^th  Day 

At  that  season  Jesus  answered  and  saici,  I  thank  thee, 
O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  didst  hide 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  understanding,  and  didst 
reveal  them  unto  babes:  yea,  Father,  for  so  it  was  well- 
pleasing  in  thy  sight.  All  things  have  been  delivered 
unto  me  of  my  Father :  and  no  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save 
the  Father;  neither  doth  any  know  the  Father,  save  the 
Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  him. 
'Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you, 
and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart:  and 
ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy, 
and  my  burden  is  light. — Matt,  ii:  35-30. 

"Thou  madest  us  for  Thyself,"  said  Augustine,  "and 
our  heart  is  never  at  rest  until  it  rest  in  Thee."  But  more 
than  this  is  true — God  is  forever  seeking  to  bring  us  to 
Himself,  that  we  may  have  rest  in  His  love.  Ajid  this 
is  the  moral  of  "The  Hound  of  Heaven" : 

"Halts  by  me  that  footfall: 

Is  my  gloom,  after  all. 
Shade  of  His  hand,  outstretched  caressingly? 

'Ah,  fondest,  blindest,  weakest, 

I  am  He  whom  thou  seekest! 
Thou  dravest  love  from  thee,  who  dravest  Me.'  " 

136 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[VIII-6] 


The  lineaments  of  this  "tremendous  Lover"  are  plain  to 
see;  and  it  is  Francis  Thompson's  gift  to  us  that  he  enables 
us  to  realize  that  the  Incarnation  is  the  great  symbol  of 
God's  search  for  us.  We  bid  men  seek  God ;  and  it  is  right 
and  needful  so  to  do;  but  that  is  only  one  half  of  the 
truth.  The  other  half  is  that  God  is  forever  seeking  us. 
And  we  may  even  say  that  when  men  set  out  in  search 
of  God,  God  (as  Pascal  said  long  ago)  has  already  found 
them.  All  through  the  poem,  the  fugitive  is  aware  that 
the  Pursuer  is  close  on  to  him,  coming 

"With  unhurrying  chase 
And  unperturbed  pace, 
Deliberate  speed,  majestic  instancy," 

and  all  the  time  sure  of  his  quarry.  It  is  that  divine  love 
"that  will  not  let  me  go,"  and  pursues  me,  into  the  desert 
of  my  self-sufficiency,  in  the"  wilderness  of  my  sin,  among 
the  mountains  of  my  ignorance — until  He  find  me.  And 
God  sent  His  Son  into  the  world  to  show  us  plainly  what 
He  is  about,  at  what  infinite  cost  He  is  pursuing  us.  His 
Son  went  out  into  the  wilderness  before  our  eyes,  and 

"None  of  the  ransomed  ever  knew 
How  deep  were  the  waters  crossed," 

that  He  might  bring  us  back  to  God.  That,  surely,  is  the 
heart  and  pith  of  the  Good  News. 

There  is  no  escape  from  this  Lover.  At  least,  Francis 
TiiOmpson  could  not  escape  Him.  He  found  Him  at  every 
turn.  He  says  that  everything  in  God's  universe  speaks 
of  Christ. 

"When  I  with  winged  feet  had  run 

Through  all  the  windy  earth  about. 
Quested  its  secret  of  the  sun 
And  heard  what  thing  the  stars  together  shout," 

it  was  this  that  he  heard  from  every  voice : 
137 


[vin-7l 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


m 


'  ,,-s- 


"By  this,  O  singer,  know  we  if  thou  see. 
When  men  shall  say  to  thee :  Lo,  Christ  is  here ; 
When  men  shall  say  to  thee :  Lo,  Christ  is  there ; 
Believe  them :  yea,  and  this — then  art  thou  seer — 
When  all  thy  crying  clear 
Is  but :  Lo  here,  lo  there  I  ah  me,  lo  everywhere  I" 

"Ah  me,  lo  everywhere  I"    It  is  the  Christ  who  is  every- 
where that  Francis  Thompson  sees  and  sings. 


Eighth  Week,  Seventh  Day 

And  straightway  he  constrained  the  disciples  to  enter 
into  the  boat,  and  to  go  before  him  unto  the  other  side, 
till  he  should  sen^  the  multitudes  away.  And  after  he 
had  sent  the  multit  loes  away,  he  went  up  into  the  moun- 
tain apart  to  pray,  and  when  even  was  come,  he  was 
there  alone.  But  >XLti  boat  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea,  distressed  by  the  waves;  for  the  wind  was  contrary. 
And  in  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  he  came  unto  them, 
walking  upon  the  sea.  And  whon  the  disciples  saw  him 
walking  on  tiie  sea,  they  were  troubled,  saying.  It  is  an 
apparition ;  and  they  cried  out  for  fear.  But  straightway 
Jesus  spake  unto  Uiem,  saying.  Be  of  good  cheer;  it  is 
I;  be  not  afraid. — Matt.  14:23-37. 

The  omnipresent,  ubiquitous  Christ,  to  whom  all  things 
bear  witness,  the  immanent  Christ  whose  glory  breaks 
through  the  crust  of  things  upon  those  who  have  eyes  to 
see — this,  then,  is  Francis  Thompson's  Christ. 

We  may  recall  that  Dante  found  Christ  in  the  midst  of 
the  host  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven;  and  we  traced  that 
to  the  logic  of  medieval  Catholicism.  Yet  even  in  that 
day  there  were  those  who  found  Christ  "closer  than 
breathing,  nearer  than  hands  or  feet."  In  Thomas  a 
Kempis's  "Imitation  of  Christ,"  we  find  an  intimate,  pres- 
ent Christ,  and,  while  Francis  Thompson  is  essentially 
true  to  the  Catholic  tradition,  he  brings  Christ  down  to 
earth  and  finds  Him  always  very  ar.  It  may  be  that 
Thompson  had  ceased  to  think  in  purely  spatial  terms;  it 
would  be  natural  for  the  mystic  to  find  the  veil  between 
138 


THE  POET  AS  MYSTIC 


[VIII-s] 


heaven  and  earth  so  very  thin  that  he  would  be  hard  put 
to  It  to  say  where  the  one  ended  and  the  other  began 
Ihompson  was  very  greatly  influenced  by  W^.liara  Blake- 
and  in  Blake's  prophecies  it  is  very  difficult  sometimes  to 
say  whether  we  are  in  the  city  of  his  dreams  or  in  the 
bnck-and-mortar  suburbs  of  London.  His  passage  from 
Hie  one  to  the  other  is  swift  and  bewildering.  And  in 
Thompson's  verse,  heaven  and  earth  jostle  each  other 
with  a  strange  intimacy. 

"O  world  invisible,  w-.  view  thee 
O  world  intangible,  we  touch  thee 
p  world  unknowable,  we  know  thee 
Inapprehensible,  we  clutch  thee  I  .  .  . 

Not  where  the  wheeling  systems  darken, 
And  our  benumbed  conceiving  soars  I— 
The  drift  of  pinions,  would  we  hearken 
Beats  at  our  own  clay-shuttered  doors. 
The  angels  keep  their  ancient  places 
Turn  but  a  stone  and  start  a  wing  1 
Tis  ye,  'tis  your  estranged  faces 
That  miss  the  many-splendoured  thing. 
But  when  so  sad,  thou  canst  not  sadder 
Cry;  and  upon  thy  so  sore  loss 
Shall  shine  the  traffic  of  Jacob's  ladder 
Pitched  betwixt  heaven  and  Charing  Cross. 
Yea,  in  the  night,  my  Soul,  my  daughter 
C'7--clinging  Heaven  by  the  hems 
And  lo,  Christ  walkini^  on  the  water 
Not  of  Gennesareth  but  Thames!" 

"^'''.  L  "*"  ""'*  y°"  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  ' 

SUOOE8TIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

How  would  you  describe  the  child  mind?    What  did 
Jesus  mean  by  saying  that  except  we  turn  and  become  as 
little  children  we  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God? 
I3Q 


[VIII-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Some  adverse  criticism  has  been  made  of  the  title  "The 
Hound  of  Heaven."  Do  you  think  this  criticism  justified 
in  view  of  the  theme  of  the  poem  ? 

Jesus  once  said  that  when  men  said  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Cod,  "Lo,  here"  or  "Lo,  there,"  we  were  not  to  believe 
them.  Is  there  any  inconsistency  between  this  and  Francis 
Thompson's  "Lo  here,  lo  there,  lo  everywhere"  ? 


140 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Prophet  of  Righteousness- 
Savonarola 

(1452— 1498) 

A  hundred  and  eighty  years  after  Dante  had  been  exiled 
from  Florence,  there  came  thither  a  young  I^m.nTcan 
monk  whose  name  was  destined  to  be  associfted^  Sthe 
cuy  as  mt.mately  as  Dante's  own.  Dante  and  Savo^rola 
had  much  in  common.  Both  possessed  the  deep  historical 
msjght  and  the  passion  for  righteousness  that  markld  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  Both  plunged  fearlessly  into  that  vor! 
iTfe  nf  R?"^""  ^"•'^  ^t'"°"  ^^'""^  constituted  the  political 

i tv  f  om  the"h'   H  *';  '"P".'"^*  "''y  ™eht  deliver  the 
city  from  the  hands  of  greedy  princes  and  their  greedier 
fne^s.    Both  at  length  suffered  the  penalty  of  the^rophe 
-ex.  e  for  Dante,  a  martyr's  death  for  Savonarola. 

In  the  period  between  Dante  and  Savonarola  much  had 
theTame'  Th"'  --"characteristics  had  remained  much 
the  same.    The  same  dissension  and  jealousy  were  tearing 

had  1"J°T''  "'/"•  ^'^  ""''^**  ^'^'y  °f  -hich  Dantf 
had  v.ft^l''T  ""*  !!'""■=  ^"''  '"''"'^  '"^"y  =«"»""« 
true  aI  i^n  ^r?^^''«=  S^"'  Florentine's  dream  came 
dan<;.rlA  .  f'^\'"".='  ?°  '"  Savonarola's,  there  was 
danger  to  Italy  from  the  designs  of  French  princes,  though 
Savonarola  and  his  contemporaries,  reading  history  less 
deeply  than  their  great  precursor,  were  indined  a'^  one 
time  to  hail  the  coming  of  a  French  King  to  Italy  as  a 
great  deliverance.  And  the  greatest  trouble  of  all  was 
Ml 


[IX-il 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


certainly  the  greed  of  the  Papacy.  The  vicars  of  Christ 
were  conspicuous  by  their  lack  of  the  spirit  of  Christ ;  and 
that  great  gulf  which  yawned  between  the  temper  of 
Rome  in  Dante's  day  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  had 
become  none  the  narrower  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  Dante's  denunciations  of  the  avarice  and  the 
excesses  of  the  Pope  might  have  been  repeated  with  equal 
emphasis  in  the  Italy  of  Savonarola. 

The  great  happening  of  the  period  between  Dante  and 
Savonarola  was  the  rebirth  of  learning,  commonly  known 
as  the  Renascence.  It  does  not  belong  to  our  present 
purpose  to  tell  the  story  of  the  strange  rediscovery  of  the 
treasures  of  antiquity,  with  its  profound  effect  upon 
thought,  literature,  and  art.  The  ancient  world  seemed 
to  be  brought  to  life  again.  But  in  the  clash  of  old  with 
new,  there  was  of  necessity  much  confusion  of  thought. 
The  impact  of  the  philosophy  of  Greece  upon  the  beliefs 
of  medieval  Catholicism  brought  about  an  intellectual 
twilight  in  which  many  strange  things  were  said  and  done; 
and  it  is  full  of  interest  to  observe  men  in  that  day,  as  in 
the  case  of  Browning  and  Tennyson  we  saw  men  doing 
the  same  thing  in  a  later  day,  seeking  to  work  out  an 
intelligible  position  between  the  old  light  and  the  new. 


DAILY  READINGS 

Ninth  Week,  First  Day 

Woe  to  them  that  are  at  ease  in  Zion,  and  to  them  that 
are  secure  in  tiie  mountain  of  Samaria,  the  notable  men 
of  the  chief  of  the  nations,  to  whom  the  house  of  Israel 
comet    Pass  ye  unto  Calneh,  and  see;  and  from  thence 

fo  ye  to  Hamath  the  great :  then  go  down  to  Gath  of  the 
'hilistines:  be  they  better  than  these  kingdoms?  or  is 
their  border  greater  than  your  border?  Ye  that  put 
far  away  the  evil  day,  and  cause  the  seat  of  violence  to 
come  near;  that  lie  upon  beds  of  ivory,  and  stretch  them- 
selves upon  their  couches,  and  eat  the  lambs  out  of  the 
flock,  and  the  calves  out  of  the  midst  of  the  stall;  that 

143 


THE  PROPHET  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS    [IX-i] 

ling  idle  ion(s  to  the  sound  o£  the  viol;  that  deviie  for 
thenuelvee  initrumenti  of  muiic,  lilce  D.vid;  Sm  drink 
min't.'f  K°r'!i'"'*  "-•'"  themeelve.  with  the'  chfeV  otat- 
jiX-i£n*.'S:::S."*"  '"•'•••  ""  *•  •«'«"»»  «* 

It  was,  then  in  the  midst  of  political,  ecclesiastical,  and 
intellectual  confusion  that  Savonarola  came  to  Florence 
The  city  was  renowned  for  the  zeal  with  which  it  had 
fostered  the  new  knowledge.  Under  Lorenzo  de'  Medici 
known  as  the  Magnificent,  literature  and  art  had  been 
greatly  encouraged.  Lorenzo  himself  was  a  very  complex 
ch,  racter.  A  sincere  friend  of  the  arts,  his  personal  life 
was  of  no  high  order.  His  government  of  Florence  was 
harsh  and  unscrupulous;  he  resorted  to  many  questionable 
means  to  secure  his  authority  and  to  increase  his  wealth. 
Savonarola  s  early  years  in  Florence  coincided  with 
the  later  years  of  Lorenzo's  reign.  The  monk,  with  his 
stern  uncompromising  demand  for  purity  of  life,  had  scant 
respect  for  the  evil-living  prince  and  made  little  effort 
to  disguise  his  feeling.  Lorenzo  in  his  turn  disliked 
Savonarola  exceedingly.  After  a  time  of  quiet  service 
in  training  novitiates  at  the  convent  of  St.  Mark  Savon- 
arola's great  preaching  gift  asserted  itself,  and  before  long 
his  name  was  known  throughout  Italy.  Feeling  with  some- 
thing like  agony  the  corruption  in  Church  and  State 
he  condemned  it  unsparingly  in  both  places,  and  it  took 
the  people  no  long  time  to  recognize  that  a  prophet  had 
arisen,  to  whom  they  listened  gladly.  Utterly  fearless, 
altogether  sure  of  his  message,  wielding  a  unique  spirit- 
ual power,  he  soon  became  the  most  considerable  fieure 
in  Florence. 

One  incident  shows  the  stuff  of  which  he  was  made. 
Lorenzo  on  his  deathbed  sent  for  Savonarola  to  give  him 
absolution.  Savonarola  laid  down  as  a  condition  of  abso- 
lution that  he  should  restore  the  liberties  of  Florence. 
Lorenzo  refused  and  Savonarola  went  away,  leaving  the 
dying  prince  unabsolved. 

M3 


11X-«1 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


m  w 


Ninth  Week,  Second  Day 

Then  went  I  up  in  the  nifht  by  the  brook,  and  viewed 
the  w"u;  Vnd  I  turned  b«cV  «»d  entered  by  the  vjlley 
Ste  end  lo  returned.  And  the  ruleri  knew  not  whither 
f  wen^or  what  I  did;  neither  h.d  I  .■  yet  told  it  to  the 
Jewf,  nor  to  the  priettt,  nor  to  the  noblei,  nor  to  the 
rukri.  nor  to  the  reit  that  did  the  work.  Then  Mid  I 
LSto  them.  Ye  tee  the  evil  ceie  that  we  are  in.  how 
Jerutalem  lieth  waste,  and  the  gatet  thereof  are  burned 
with  fire:  come  and  let  ua  build  up  the  wall  of  Jeruaalem. 
that  we  be  no  more  a  reproach.  And  I  told  them  ot  tne 
hand  of  my  Ood  which  waa  good  upon  me ;  ai  alto  of  the 
kinc'a  words  that  he  had  spoken  unto  me.  And  they 
said.  Let  us  rise  up  and  build.  So  they  strengthened 
their  hands  for  the  good  work.— Nth.  a:  15-18. 

Piero,  Lorenzo's  son,  succeeded  him.  Possessing  nona 
of  his  father's  good  qualities,  he  had  all  his  worst  ones 
in  an  aggravated  form.  He  was  a  weak  profligate,  and 
the  new  life  then  stirring  in  Florence  made  his  rule  im- 
possible. Some  intrigue  with  Charles  VIII  of  France, 
who  was  then  invading  Italy,  was  made  the  occasion  for 
deposing  him.  In  the  events  which  followed  Savonarola 
was  virtually  governor  of  Florence.  The  new  government 
which  was  established  was  devised  and  secured  by  hnn. 
The  people  accepted  his  counsel  unquestioningly.  A  great 
reformation  of  morals  and  manners  coincided  with  the 
political  revolution,  and  Florence  seemed  to  be  at  length 
emerging  into  a  new,  vigorous,  corporate  life,  based  upon 
righteousness  and  justice.  _ 

Of  the  political  side  of  Savonarola's  work,  this  is  not 
the  place  to  write.  That  is  a  matter  for  the  expert  in 
political  science.  But  it  belongs  to  our  present  inquiry 
to  observe  that  Savonarola  establ  ned  the  principle  that 
no  stable  political  institutions  coulu  ever  be  reared  except 
upon  a  definitely  moral  foundation.  All  political  problems 
are  at  bottom  moral  problems,  and  no  amount  of  states- 
manship or  management  can  avail  to  secure  the  stability 
of  a  political  structure  which  is  not  first  of  all  solidly 
laid  on  the  rock  of  morality. 

J44 


THE  PROPHET  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS    IIX-3) 

In  the  central  lobby  of  the  British  Houses  o(  Parlia- 
ment, there  is  inlaid  in  the  tiled  floor  a  Latin  inscription. 
It  is  the  scripture,  "Except  the  Lord  build  the  house, 
they  labour  in  vain  who  build  it."  That  is  a  good  word 
for  statesmen  and  for  all  who  have  building  operations 
of  any  kind  on  hand.  It  is  the  acknowledgment  that  the 
statesmanship  which  i.s  not  foursquare  with  the  will  of 
God  is  doomed  to  failure ;  and  this  was  the  first  article 
of  Savonarola's  faith. 

And  it  was  plain  to  the  great  preacher  that  morality 
itself  must  rest  upon  religion.  The  place  of  the  prophet 
in  the  community  is  to  teach  and  to  evoke  that  genuine 
religious  devotion  upon  which  all  stable  institutions  must 
be  founded.  Savonarola  entered  into  the  tumult  of  politics 
only  unwillingly,  for  he  conceived  his  peculiar  office  to 
be  that  of  quickening  the  spirit  and  conscience  necessary 
to  good  government.  The  business  of  the  Church  is  not 
primarily  with  political  ways  and  means,  but  with  the 
creation  of  a  public  conscience  which  will  determine  the 
methods  and  ends  of  government  in  accordance  with 
moral  principles. 

fith  Week,  Third  Day 

The  word  of  Ood  came  unto  John  the  son  of  Zacharias 
in  the  wildemeu.  And  he  came  into  all  the  region  round 
about  Jordan,  preachins  the  baptism  of  repentance  unto 
remission  of  sins;  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the 
words  of  Isaiah  the  prophet, 

The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 

Make  ve  ready  the  way  of  the  Lord, 

Make  his  paths  straight. 

Every  valley  shall  be  filled, 

And  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  brought  low; 

And  the  crooked  shall  become  straight. 

And  the  rough  ways  smooth ; 

And  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  Cod. 

He  said  therefore  to  the  multitudes  that  went  out  to 
be  baptized  of  him.  Ye  offspring  of  vipers,  who  warned 

14.=; 


(IX-31 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


vou  to  fltc  from  th«  wrath  to  com*  7   Bring  forth  tiitrt- 
fort  fruitt  worthy  of  rtptnttnce.— Lok*  3:  a-S. 

The  first  word  of  a  prophet's  message  is  R*penl;  and 
this  was  Savonarola's  first  word  to  the  people  of  Florence. 
He  had  all  the  prophet's  freedom  from  the  trammels  of 
convention  and  tradition;  but  the  intellectual  twilight  of 
his  time  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  establish  himsel' 
in  a  clear,  self-consistent  position  of  thought.  At  one 
moment,  for  instance,  he  scciied  to  accept  wi'.bout  ques- 
tion the  authority  of  the  Church  as  expressed  .Krough  the 
Pope.  At  another,  he  insisted  with  the  passion  of  a  Luther 
on  the  absolute  supremacy  of  ttc  Scriptures ;  and  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  a  wave  of  any  conflict  between 
the  two  positions.  But  a  rophet  is  the  last  person  in 
the  world  from  whom  to  expect  a  logical  consistency. 
The  force  of  ci-cums'a.ices,  however,  led  Savonarola,  as 
time  went  on,  to  j.i-;ribe  less  authority  to  the  Pope  and 
to  make  his  appei!  more  and  more  to  the  Scriptures. 

But  outside  the  region  of  doctrine,  Savonarola  showed 
no  uncertainty  of  thought.  He  knew  what  religion  was 
and  what  conduct  should  be;  and  his  call  to  his  feliow- 
tow  smen  to  repent  was  uttered  in  tones  that  carried  their 
own  authority  with  them.  It  should,  however,  not  '  t 
thought  that  Savonarola's  call  to  repentance  was  a  dei..il 
of  the  joy  of  life  or,  as  has  been  the  case  with  some 
prophets  of  a  mere  austere  turn,  a  disparagement  of 
beauty. 

It  has  been  sometimes  held  that  the  Italian  Renascence 
was  a  resurrection  of  paganism;  and  no  doubt  the  dis- 
covery of  the  wisdom  and  beauty  of  Greek  antiquity  did 
foi  a  moment  and  to  some  extent  tend  to  dim  the  riches 
of  the  Gospel.  It  is,  indeed,  no  wonder  that  it  should 
be  so.  The  interpretation  of  the  Gospel  that  then  held 
the  field  was  the  dry  and  formal  theology  of  the  School- 
men; and  it  was  bound  to  suffer  from  the  impact  upon 
it  of  the  rediscovery  of  the  undying  "glory  that  was 
146 


THE  PROPHET  OF  KICHTKOUSNESS    IIX-4I 

Greece."  Art  and  Literature  flourished  greatly  under  the 
influence  of  the  Greek  spirit.  It  has  been  assumed  that 
because  Savonarola  withstood  the  undoubted  paganism 
of  Lorenzo's  reign,  he  wai  an  enemy  of  the  arts  and  a 
hindrance  to  the  new  spirit.  So  far  from  this  being  true, 
Savonarola  was,  perhaps  unconsciously,  one  of  the  means 
by  which  the  Renascence  came  to  flow  mi  Christian 
channels.  In  his  own  convent  of  St.  Mark,  he  encouraged 
the  fine  arts;  and  Michael  Angelo  and  Botticelli,  to  name 
only  two  of  the  great  Renascence  artists,  derived  their 
inspiration  very  largely  from  Savonarola. 

Repentance  to  Savonarola  meant  a  change  of  heart  that 
brought,  not  a  narrower  life,  but  a  life  more  abundant. 

Ninth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

Now  I  Paul  myielf  intreat  you  by  the  meeknesi  and 
gentleneii  of  Christ,  I  who  in  your  presence  am  lowly 
amonf  you,  but  being  absent  am  of  good  courage  toward 
you:  yea,  I  beseech  you,  that  I  may  not  when  present 
f  u  ,'?'"■**  *''*•'  ""  confidence  wherewith  I  count  to 
be  bold  against  some,  which  count  of  us  as  if  we  walked 
according  to  the  flesh.  For  though  we  walk  in  the  flesh 
we  do  not  war  according  to  the  flesh  (for  the  weapons 
of  our  warfare  are  not  of  the  flesh,  but  mighty  before 
pod  to  the  casting  down  of  strong  holds; ;  casting  down 
imagiaationi,  and  evenr  high  thing  that  is  exalted  against 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  every  thought  into 


captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.— II  Cor.  10: 


J-S- 


It  was,  however,  only  as  Savonarola  broke  away  from 
the  accepted  theology  and  teaching  of  medieval  Catholi- 
cism that  he  was  able  to  give  to  artists,  and  to  the  common 
people  as  well,  that  enlarged  liberal  spirit  in  which  the 
glories  of  the  ancient  world  and  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ 
were  to  find  a  common  meeting-ground,  and  in  which  the 
true  proportions  of  both  would  appear.  The  utter  and 
absolute  supremacy  of  Jesus  Christ,  everywhere,  in  philoso- 
phy, in  art,  in  statesmanship — this  wai  the  body  of 
"47 


lix-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Savonarola's  message,  as  the  call  to  repentance  was  its 
beginning. 

In  theory,  Savonarola's  attitude  to  the  Church  was 
correct  enough.  The  Church  Militant  on  earth  was  the 
other  self  of  the  Church  Triumphant  in  heaven;  and  as 
the  head  of  the  latter  was  Jesus  Christ,  so  was  the  Pope 
the  head  of  the  former.  "Wherefore,"  he  says  in  a  little 
tractate  called  "The  Triumph  of  the  Cross,"  "it  is  manifest 
that  all  the  faithful  should  be  united  under  the  Pope  as  the 
supreme  head  of  the  Roman  Church,  the  mother  of  all 
other  churches,  and  that  whosoever  departs  from  the 
unity  of  the  Roman  Church  departs  from  the  Church." 

But  whatever  Savonarola's  theory  may  have  been,  in 
practice  he  considers  that  his  own  supreme  head  is  not 
the  Pope  but  Jesus  Christ.  It  may  have  been  that  he 
regarded  the  Pope  of  his  own  day  as  a  usurper  who  had 
no  right  to  the  office  he  held;  but  Savonarola  clearly 
regarded  his  own  commission  as  held  directly  from  Christ. 
When  the  Pope  excommunicated  him,  he  said,  "For  me, 
it  is  enough  not  to  be  interdicted  by  Christ."  So  lightly 
did  he  hold  the  excommunication  that  he  went  on  to  say, 
"O  my  Lord,  if  I  should  seek  to  be  absolved  from  this 
excommunication,  let  me  be  sent  to  hell." 

So  impossible  is  it  to  hold  new  wine  in  old  wineskins. 


* 


4.1 


Ninth  Week.  Fifth  Day 

What  then  shall  we  say  to  these  things?  If  God  is 
for  us,  who  is  against  us?  He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 
also  with  him  freely  give  us  all  things?  Who  shall  lay 
anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  It  is  God  that 
justifieth;  who  is  he  that  shall  condemn?  It  is  Christ 
Jesus  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  in- 
tercession for  us.  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  Christ?  shall  tribulation,  or  anguish,  or  persecution, 
or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword?  Even  as  it 
is  written, 

148 


THE  PROP II ET  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS    (IX-s] 

For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long; 
We  were  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter. 

Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded,  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  prmcipalities,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers,  nor 
height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able 
to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord. — Rom.  8:  31-39. 


We  may  fairly  trace  in  Savonarola  the  foreshadowing 
of  that  coming  revolt  from  papal  authority  and  that  grow- 
ing consciousness  of  the  true  relation  of  the  Church, 
whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  to  its  only  Head,  which  led 
to  the  Protestant  Reformation.  This  tendency  is  quite 
evident  throughout  Savonarola's  teaching.  The  complex 
machinery  of  the  Roman  system  for  t^i  spiritual  develop- 
ment of  its  children,  he  views  with  increasing  distrust 
and  he  insists  that  the  increase  of  ceremonies  mc  is  a  de- 
crease of  real  spirituality.  "Wherefore,"  he  says,  "we 
are  come  to  declare  to  the  world  that  outward  worship 
must  give  way  to  inward,  and  that  ceremonies  are  naught 
save  as  a  means  of  stirring  the  spirit."  The  essence  of 
the  Christian  religion  is  the  love  of  Christ,  "that  lively 
affection  which  inspires  the  faithful  with  the  desire  to 
bring  his  soul  to  unity,  as  it  were,  with  that  of  Christ" 
and  live  the  life  of  the  Lord  not  by  external  imitatio:i 
but  by  inward  and  divine  inspiration."  In  this  love  is 
the  power  to  raise  man  "from  humanity  to  divinity"  and 
to  unite  "the  finite  creature  to  the  infinite  Creator."  This 
love  is  the  keynote  of  Savonarola's  preaching.  "Take 
the  example  of  Christ,"  he  says,  in  one  of  his  sermons, 
"who  came  to  us  as  a  little  child,  in  all  things  like  unto 
the  sons  of  men,  submitting  to  hunger  and  thirst,  to  heat 
and  cold  and  discomfort.  What  hath  urged  Him  to  do 
this?  He  spoke  now  with  just  men.  now  with  publicans 
and  sinners,  and  He  led  a  life  that  all  men  and  all  women, 
small  and  great,  rich  and  poor,  may  imitate,  all  after  their 

149 


[IX-6] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


t 


own  way  and  according  to  their  condition,  and  thus  un- 
doubtedly win  their  salvation.  And  what  made  Him  live 
so  poor  and  so  marvellous  a  life?  It  was  undoubtedly 
Lx)ve.  Love  bound  Him  to  the  pillar,  led  Him  to  the 
Cross,  raised  Him  from  the  dead,  and  made  Him  ascend 
into  heaven  and  thus  accomplish  the  mysteries  of  our 
redemption." 

Savonarola's  sense  of  personal  union  with  Jesus  was 
so  intimate  that  when  the  tide  turned  and  a  fickle  people 
turned  against  him,  he  declared,  "They  may  kill  me  as 
they  please,  but  they  will  never  tear  Christ  from  my 
heart."  When  at  last  Florence  did  come  to  kill  him, 
a  priest  asked  him,  "In  what  spirit  dost  thou  face  this 
martyrdom?"  the  monk  answered,  "The  Lord  hath  suf- 
fered so  much  for  me."  And  as  they  fixed  the  halter 
around  his  neck,  he  said,  "Into  thv  hands,  O  Lord,  I 
commend  my  spirit." 


Ninth  Week,  Sixth  Day 

Now  when  they  had  passed  through  AmpbipolU  and 
ApoUonia,  they  came  to  Thesaalonica,  where  was  a  syna- 
gogue of  the  Jews:  and  Paul,  as  his  custom  was,  went 
in  unto  them,  and  for  three  sabbath  days  reasoned  with 
them  from  the  scriptures,  opening  and  alleging,  that  it 
behoved  the  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again  from  the 
dead;  and  that  this  Jesus,  whom,  said  he,  I  proclaim 
unto  you,  is  the  Christ.  And  some  o£  them  were  per- 
suaded, and  consorted  with  Paul  and  Silas;  and  of  the 
devout  Greeks  a  great  multitude,  and  of  the  chief  women 
not  a  few.  But  the  Jews,  being  moved  with  jealousy, 
took  unto  them  certam  vile  fellows  of  the  rabble,  and 
gathering  a  crowd,  set  the  city  on  an  uproar ;  and  assault- 
mg  the  house  of  Jason,  they  sought  to  bring  them  forth 
to  the  people.  And  when  they  found  them  not,  they 
dragged  Jason  and  certain  brethren  before  the  rulers  of 
the  city,  crying,  These  that  have  turned  the  world  upside 
down  are  come  hither  also;  whom  Jason  hath  received: 
and  these  all  act  contrary  to  the  decrees  of  Cesar,  saying 
that  there  is  another  king,  one  Jesus.  And  they  troubled 
the  multitude  and  the  rulers  of  the  city,  when  they  heard 

ISO 


THE  PROPHET  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS    [IX-;] 

theie  things.     And  when  they  had  taken  security  from 
Jason  and  the  rest,  they  let  them  go Acts  17: 1.9. 

"That  Christ  is  our  ultimate  end,  and  that  only  through 
Him  can  we  attain  salvation"— in  these  words  Savonarola 
summed  up  his  own  faith.  But  it  was  not  the  saviour- 
hood  of  Christ  so  much  as  His  kingship  that  Savonarola 
emphasized  most  deeply  in  his  dealings  with  the  Floren- 
tines. However  he  might  have  placed  Christ  in  his  the- 
ology, the  more  important  matter  is  the  part  which  he 
assigned  to  Christ  in  the  practical  aflfairs  and  the  common 
life  of  Florence.  We  cannot  but  be  impressed  by  the 
very  direct  way  in  which  he  sought  to  reestablish  Christ 
in  a  definite  relation  to  the  city  and  its  people.  In  a 
sermon  which  he  preached  in  1494,  after  the  establishment 
of  the  new  government,  he  announced  that  "it  is  the 
Lord's  will  to  give  a  new  head  to  the  city  of  Florence"; 
and  after  keeping  the  people  in  suspense  for  some  time,  he 
cried,  "The  new  head  is  Jesus  Christ.  He  seeks  to  become 
your  king." 

The  idea  caught  the  Imagination  of  the  Flo'entines 
and  they  went  out  into  'he  streets  shouting,  "Long  live 
Christ  our  king." 

In  a  poem  written  by  Savonarola,  he  speaks  of  "Jesus, 
King  of  Florence,"  and  it  was  around  this  point  that  his 
thought  at  the  time  chiefly  moved.  On  a  certain  Palm 
Sunday,  a  service  for  children  was  held  in  the  Cathedral 
prior  to  a  procession;  and  after  speaking  to  the  children 
awhile,  Savonarola  turned  to  the  men  and  women  present 
and  cried,  "Florence,  behold  I  This  is  the  Lord  of  the 
Universe  and  would  fain  be  thine.  Wilt  thou  have  Him 
for  thy  king?"  And  the  multitude  answered,  "Long  live 
Christ  our  king  I" 

Ninth  Week,  Seventh  Day 

I£  there  is  therefore  any  comfort  in  Christ,  if  any 
coniolation  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  if 


[IX-7] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


any  tender  mercies  and  compassions,  fulfil  ye  my  joy, 
that  ye  be  of  the  same  mind,  having  the  same  love,  being 
of  one  accord,  of  one  mind;  doing  nothing  through 
faction  or  through  vainglory,  but  in  lowlinesi  of  mind 
each  counting  other  better  than  himself;  not  looking 
each  of  you  to  his  own  things,  but  each  of  you  alio  to 
the  things  of  others.  Have  this  mind  in  you,  which  was 
also  in  Christ  Jesus:  who,  being  in  the  form  of  Qod, 
counted  it  not  a  prize  to  be  on  an  equality  with  God, 
but  emptied  himself,  taking  the  form  of  a  servant,  being 
made  in  the  likeness  of  men;  and  being  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  becoming  obedient  even 
unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore  also 
God  highly  exalted  him,  and  gave  unto  him  the  name 
which  is  above  every  name;  that  in  the  name  of  Jssus 
every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven  and  things 
on  earth  and  tilings  under  the  earth,  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father. — Phil,  a:  i-ii. 

This,  then,  is  the  crowning  thought  of  Savonarola — 
the  absolute  and  unquestioned  sovereignty  of  Jesus  in  the 
heart  of  the  individual  and  the  community.  We  can  afford 
to  pass  by  our  prophet's  theology.  The  intellectual  con- 
fusion of  iiis  time,  the  conflict  of  tradition  and  liberty  in 
his  own  mind,  the  tremendous  and  unbroken  whirl  into 
which  circumstances  forced  him  in  his  later  years  in 
Florence — these  things  make  it  impossible  for  him  to 
evolve  a  self-consistent  philosophy.  But  as  we  follow 
the  man  through  the  fever  of  those  tumultuous  years,  as 
we  see  him  essaying  statecraft,  there  emerges  a  great 
principle  which  was  never  for  a  moment  clouded  or  ob- 
scured— the  supreme  lordship  of  Christ  over  soul  and 
city.  Though  schooled  in  an  tmosphere  of  tradition, 
a  child  of  the  middle  ages,  yet  the  stirring  events  of 
Florentine  history  call  him  away  from  the  doctrinal 
baggage  of  the  schools  and  the  exaggerated  ceremonialism 
of  the  Church  to  the  central  spiritual  reality  of  the  Gospel. 
He  was  "a  reformer  before  the  Reformation."  Not  yet 
sufficiently  inaiure  to  break  away  formally  from  the 
Roman  system,  nevertheless  he  heralded  not  uncertainly 
152 


THE  PROPHET  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS    (IX-s] 

that  great  movement  which  a  generation  after  his  death 
was  to  revolutionize  western  Europe.  Martin  Luther  was 
fifteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  Savonarola's  death- 
and  It  v/as  the  tattered  banner  of  revolt  that  the  Florentine 
prophet  had  laid  down  too  prematurely  in  1498  which 
Luther  raised  in  1517,  when  he  nailed  his  "theses"  to  the 
door  of  the  Castle  Church  in  Wittenberg,  the  first  act  in 
the  drama  of  the  Reformation. 

Savonarola  has  left  us  for  his  monument  the  thought 
of  Jesus  as  the  great  overlord  of  our  corporate  life.  In 
these  democratic  days  there  is  a  growing  sense  of  the 
incongruity  of  conceiving  Jesus  under  terms  of  secular 
monarchy.  But  what  was  in  Savonarola's  mind  is  plain. 
He  meant  that  our  legislation  shall  be  conceived  in  His 
spirit,  that  it  shall  be  enacted  and  administered  along 
the  lines  of  His  will,  and  that  our  public  bodies,  from 
Parliament  and  Congress  down  to  the  veriest  subcommittee 
of  parish  councillors  or  selectmen,  shall  sit  as  it  were  in 
His  presence.  Let  His  will  be  the  touchstone  of  our 
enactments,  let  His  principles  become  the  fundamentals 
of  civic  and  national  life,  let  His  character  become  the 
citizen's  ideal.  Thus  Savonarola,  though  he  be  dead,  yet 
speaketh ;  and  this  generation,  God  knows,  needs  to  listen 
to  him. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

It  would  be  worth  while  to  test  the  statement  that  the 
prophet's  first  word  is  "Repent."  by  reference  to  Isaiah, 
Amos,  Rosea,  and  John  the  Baptist. 

Repentance  and  penitence  are  often  supposed  to  be  the 
same  thing;  they  are,  however,  different.  How  are  we 
to  distinguish  between  them? 

Why  is  the  term  King  somewhat  unconvincing  when  we 

apply  it  to  Jesus  ?    Can  you  suggest  any  other  term  which 

will  retain  the  spiritual  idea  implied  in  kingship,  but  which 

is  devoid  of  the  notion  of  authority  imposed  from  without.' 

153 


•t  , 


CHAPTER  X 


The  Prophet  of  Humanity — 

Mazzini 

(1805— 1872) 

The  prophet  has  almost  always  been  a  patriot;  but  his 
patriotism  has  been  oi  a  distinct  order.  The  blatant 
assumption  of  superiority  over  other  peoples,  an  inflated 
national  pride — these  things  and  such  as  these  which 
sometimes  pass  for  patriotism  bear  the  name  falsely.  The 
true  patriotism  has  other  attributes.  In  its  essence  it  is 
a  passionate  love  for  one's  nation,  its  traditions,  and  its 
institutions,  joined  to  a  profound  faith  in  its  possibilities 
and  in  its  specific  mission  in  the  plan  of  history.  It  is 
not  at  all  akin  to  that  selfish  and  exclusive  temper  which 
regards  the  securing  of  certain  material  goods  for  a  peo- 
ple as  a  worthy  end  in  itself;  on  the  contrary,  it  seeks 
such  advantages  as  will  enable  the  nation  to  fill  its  own 
place  in  the  larger  life  of  the  race. 

The  patriot-prophet  always  appears  at  a  time  when  his 
own  country  is  degenerating  and  becoming  incapable  of 
making  its  own  contribution  to  the  life  of  the  world.  He 
starts  by  seeing  what  Jesus  once  saw  and  feeling  as  He 
then  felt — "when  he  saw  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved 
with  compassion  for  them,  because  they  were  distressed 
and  scattered,  as  sheep  not  having  a  shepherd."  The 
putrescence  of  national  life,  the  disintegration  of  its  social 
bonds — these  things  weigh  heavily  on  his  soul,  and  he 
emerges  out  of  the  wilderness  or  the  cloister  into  the  high- 

154 


THE  I'KOPfinr  OF  HUMANITY 


fX-.| 


ways  and  the  c.ty  streets  with  a  great  call  to  repentance 
His  one  passion  is  to  stay  the  degeneracy,  to  snatch  his 
people  from  the  perilous  incline  down  which  they  are 
sliding  to  destruction,  and  to  set  them  again  upon  the 
path  which  they  have  forsaken  and  which  alone  can  lead 
of  God  '°  "'^''"  °'^"  •''""'' '"  ^'^^  manifold  economy 

The  Italy  of  Mazzini's  youth  was  no  less  broken  and 
distressed  than  that  of  Dante  or  Savonarola.    Metternich 
the  Austrian  statesman,  had  sneered  at  Italy  as  merely 
a  geographical  expression,"  and  the  description  was  in 
DaurhL""."""';     "^^^   '"■'=''"  °^  ^   united   Italy   which 
s^n    in  .t      r'i  '°  T**'""'  ^"^  ^'"''^""^  y*^"  before  was 
^Zaw       k°"u-;    ^'  ^^^  '°  '^'^  '^"'  'hat  Mazzini  de- 
voted himself  while  yet  a  young  man;  for  it  he  lived  and 
suffered  and  wrought     Though  the  republic  in  which  he 
had  hoped  to  see  Italy  united  was  never  established,  he 
nevertheless  lived  to  see  Italy  a  nation,  settling  down  to 
order  its  new-found  life  on  lines  which  would  enable  it 
to  stand  unashamed  in  the  councils  of   Europe   and  to 
make  Its  own  contribution  to  the  enrichment  of  the  com- 
mon life  of  man.    Mazzini,  unlike  his  friend  Ruffini   was 
not  permitted  to  die  for  Italy;  he  was  compelled  to  do 
that  more  difficult  thing-to  live  for  his  country.    In  one 
of  his  es.^ays  he  quotes   Lamennais,   that  great   French 
lover  of  liberty;   "Faith  demands  Action,  not  tears"  h 
demands  of  us  the  power  of  sacrifice,  sole  origin  of  our 
salvation.     It  seeks  Christians  capable  of  looking  down 
upon  the  world  from  on  high  and  facing  its  fatigues  with- 
out fear;  Christians  capable  of  saying.  We  will  die  for 
tus ;  alwve  all,  Christians  capable  of  saying,  'We  will 
live  for  this.' "    Such  an  one  was  Mazzini  himself. 

.    [A  good  collection  of  Mazzini's  essays  mav  be  obtained 
n  a  volunie  ca  ed  by  the  title  of  his  greatest  essay,  "The 
Duties  of  Man,    in  Everyman's  Library.    The  volume  also 
contains  an  excellent  biographical  introduction.] 
155 


[X-1] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 
DAILY  READINGS 


Tenth  Week,  First  Day 

And  what  .h.n  I  more  say?  For  *e  time  will  fail  me 
if  I  tell  of  Gideon,  Barak,  Samson,  Jephthah,  of  David 
IL  Samuel  and  the  prophets:  who  through  faith  subdued 
WnJoS"  wrought  righteousness,  obtained  Promises. 
.,^5neHhe  mouths  of  Uons,  quenched  the  power  of  fire, 
stopped  the  raomat  ox  ^^  £„„  weakness  were.made 

escaped  the  «°««,°L*^'i*^.r   tu™ed  *"  *>'«''*  »"""'  °* 
:i[e«''  Xme^feceived  their  d«d  by  .'resurrection: 

H£^iHSoS:is^>^s^^ 

should  not  be  made  perfect.— Heb.  ii.  a'  4o- 

It  was  no  inspiring  spectacle  that  Italy  presented  to 
the  e^es  of  the  youni  Mazzini.     There  was  no  national 
vitality     The  people  were  plunged  into  a  gross  material- 
Um  where  the?  were  not  wholly  buried  in  a  Profound  - 
difference.     The  revolutionary  society  «« ^he  Carbonar^ 
which  Mazzini  joined,  was   zealous  enough   f°r  ^  aUan 
rndependence;  but  its  spirit  was  utihtarian  and  'ts  methods 
altoeether  opportunist.     But  Mazzini  himself  was  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other.    "I  believed,"  he  says  of  himself, 
•■that  the  great  problem  of  the  day  was  a  re  igious  prob- 
lem, to  which  all  other  questions  were  secondary.         1  he 
people,"  he  wrote  in  his  great  "'anifesto,    Fa.th  and  the 
Future"   (183S).  "lack  faith  .  .  .  the  faith  'ha    a  °u^^^ 
the  multitudes,  faith  in  .heir  own  destiny,  m  the  r  own 
mission  and  in  the  mission  of  the  epoch;  the  faith  that 
fights  and  prays;  the  faith  that  enlightens  and  bids  men 
IS6 


THE  PROPHET  OF  HUMANITY 


[X-2] 


advance  fearlessly  in  the  ways  of  God  and  humanity,  with 
the  sword  of  the  people  in  their  hand,  the  religion  of  the 
people  in  their  heart,  and  the  future  of  the  people  in  their 
soul." 

Faith,  in  Mazzini's  view,  was  essentially  the  power  of 
"seeing  the  invisible,"  of  deriving  inspiration  from  its 
eternal  sources  in  the  unseen.  He  had  little  patience  with 
the  devious  ways  and  the  compromising  spirit  of  the  con- 
ventional statecraft:  the  redemption  of  Italy  must  be 
sought  along  other  lines.  Her  soul  must  be  raised  from 
the  dead.  This  was  possible  only  by  calling  upon  her 
people  as  another  prophet  had  done  before  him,  to  a  nation 
equally  apathetic,  to  "lift  up  their  eyes  on  high."  Mazzini 
broke  away  from  the  revolutionary  spirit  which  cherished 
no  ideals  higher  than  that  of  the  pocket  or  the  stomach, 
and  preached  to  a  people  held  in  the  deadly  grip  of  an 
arid  materialism,  the  old  gospel  that  "man  shall  not 
live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth 
out  of  the  mouth  of  God" — by  which  he  proved  himself 
to  belong  to  "the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets." 

Tenth  Week,  Second  Day 

The  word  that  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz  saw  concerning 
Judah  and  Jerusalem.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the 
latter  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall 
be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be 
exalted  above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto 
it.  And  many  peoples  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  and 
let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house 
of  the  God  of  Jacob;  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways, 
and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths:  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go 
for-',  he  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem. 
A'  -  shall  judge  between  the  nations,  and  shall  reprove 
m  leoples:    and   they   shall   beat    their   swords    into 

pluwonares,  and  their  spears  into  pruninghooks :  nation 
shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they 
learn  war  any  more. — Isa.  a:  1-4. 

Mazzini's  early  agitations  ended  disastrously  for  him; 
he    suffered   a   long   exile    full    of    strange    vicissitudes. 
JS7 


IX-aJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Nevertheless,  he  preached  his  gospel  in  season  and  out 
of  season;  and  by  many  devices  he  secured  its  propa- 
gation in  Italy.    His  exile,  however,  served  him  in  good 
stea-l.     It  was  not  Italy  alone  that  was  beginning  to  be 
restless   under   chains.     Europe   was   seething   with   the 
spirit  of  revolution ;  and  both  England  and  France  became 
sanctuaries   for   many,  like   Mazzini   himself,   who   were 
fugitive  from  their  own  countries.    In  France  that  brave 
priest,  Lamennais,  was  preaching  revolutionary  doctrine 
with    the    same    religious    passion   as   Mazzini,    and   the 
European    ferment   opened    Mazzini's   eyes   to   the    true 
nature  of  his  problem.     It  gave  him  a  truer  perspective 
than  he  would  otherwise  have  had ;  so  that  he  became  the 
prophet  not  of  a  nation  only  but  of  a  whole  continent. 
He  saw  on  the  broad  plain  of  European  history  what  he 
saw  in  little  in  Italy.     This  did  not  in  the  least  weaken 
the  intensity  of  his  feeling  for  Italy.     On  the  contrary, 
it  deepened  it,  for  it  was  in  and  through  Italy  that  he 
hoped  to  see  accomplished  that  synthesis  of  the  European 
peoples  which  would  be  the  new  birth  of  man.     It  is  a 
commonplace  of  history  and  biography  that  Rome  has  a 
glamor  which  profoundly  affects  all  minds  that  are  sensi- 
tive to  its  atmosphere  and  its  traditions.     Lord  Morley 
has    told   us   how   great   a   revolution    was   wrought   in 
Gladstone's  mind  and  religious  outlook  by  his  first  visit 
to   Rome.     The   same   spell    was   upon   Mazzini.     "God 
chose  Rome,"  he  says,  "as  the  interpreter  of  His  design 
among  the  nations.     Twice  she  has  given  unity  to  the 
world ;  she  will  bestow  it  a  third  time  and  forever."    The 
course  of  history  seems  to  have  drifted  away  from  the 
channel   of  Mazzini's   anticipations;   but  it  is   none   the 
less   important    for   our   understanding  of   Mazzini   that 
we   should  remember  that  he   looked  to  Rome   for   the 
enunciation  of  the  new  idea,  the  message  of   the   new 
epoch,  which  was  to  transform  the  European  jungle  into 
a  vast  commonwealth  bound  together  by  a  common  reli- 
gious ideal. 

ISS 


THE  PROPHET  OF  HUMANITY 


(X-3l 


The  Old  Testament  prophet  looked  forward  to  the  day 
when  "the  mountain  of  the  housi  of  Jehovah"  should  be 
exalted  above  all  the  mountains  and  when  the  nations 
would  pour  into  it  as  their  common  world-metropolis 
But  upon  neither  Jerusalem  nor  Rome  has  th.t  distinc- 
tion yet  fallen :  and  it  does  not  appear  likely  thit  it  ever 
will.  Still,  we  are  plainly  drawing  nearer  the  day  when 
the  substance  if  not  the  form  of  these  prophetic  dreams 
IS  coming  within  hail  of  realization.  The  League  of 
Nations  may  be  but  the  framework  of  that  new  unity  of 
man  for  which  Mazzini  looked. 

Tenth  Week,  Third  Day 

For  as  the  body  is  one.  and  hath  many  members,  and 
all  the  members  of  the  body,  being  many,  are  one  body: 
so  also  IS  Christ.  For  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body,  whether  Jews  or  Greeks,  whether  bond  or 
tree;  and  were  all  made  to  drink  of  one  Spirit.  For 
tue  body  is  not  one  member,  but  many.  If  the  foot  shall 
say.  Because  I  am  not  the  hand,  I  am  not  of  the  body: 
It  IS  not  therefore  not  of  the  body.     And  if  the  ew 

body;  It  IS  not  therefore  not  of  the  body.  If  the  whole 
body   were   an   eye,   where    were   the   hearing?      If   the 

w£  rr^f'  i"!?""*'  1''*"  "'"  the  smelling?  But  now 
hath  God  set  the  members  each  one  of  them  in  the  body, 
even  as  it  pleased  him.  And  if  they  were  all  one  mem- 
ber,  where  were  the  body? — I  Cor.  la:  ia-19. 

The  message  of  the  nineteenth  century,  according  to 
Mazzini,  was  to  be  "synthesis"  or  "association." 

He  held  that  the  Protestant  Reformation  had  estab- 
lished finally  the  principle  of  individual  rights.  It  was 
the  revolt  of  the  individual  mind  and  conscience  against 
the  tyranny  of  a  corrupt  and  materi.ilistic  ecclesiastical 
system.  He  further  believed  that  the  French  Revolution 
was  the  "political  translation"  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion; yet  he  was  not  inclined  to  regard  the  French  Revolu- 
tion with  the  hot  approval  that  was  common  among  the 
159 


im  I 


lX-31 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


revolutionary  mind*  of  his  time.  For  he  »aid  that  its 
exaggerated  emphasis  upon  the  principle  of  individualism 
had  led  to  its  inevitable  conclusion  in  the  Empire  and 
the  despotism  of  Napoleon.  It  is  right,  he  mainUined, 
that  all  persons  should  be  free;  but  if  you  have  only 
freedom,  then  you  have  competition  and  strife.  The  prin- 
ciple of  individual  liberty  must  be  balanced  by  another; 
and  to  this  other,  Maziini  gave  the  name  of  "association 
or  "synthesis,"  which,  of  course,  means  just  "getting 
together."  This  is  the  reason  why  Mazzini  emphasized 
not  personal  rights  but  pers  al  duties;  and  it  were  al- 
ways well  for  us  to  hear  n.  e  of  duties  than  of  rights. 
Emphasis  on  our  rights  tends  to  separate  us,  to  set  us 
against  one  another;  but  emphasis  on  duties  will  help 
to  unite  us,  to  bind  us  togethe.. 

It  was  Mazzini's  belief  and  hope  that  the  mission  ot 
the  nineteenth  century  was  to  establish  this  principle  of 
association  in  national  and  international  life.  The  pre 
vious  epoch  had  shown  what  society  owed  to  the  in- 
dividual; the  nineteenth  century  would  show  what  the 
individual  owed  to  society.  Up  to  a  certain  point,  Maz- 
zini's  foresight  was  justified.  While,  in  England  at 
least,  the  trend  of  legislation  in  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century  had  been  individualistic,  a  process 
of  securing  individual  rights,  in  the  latter  half  the  tend- 
ency was  coUectivistic,  that  is  to  say,  .t  expressed  the 
collective  action  of  the  community  in  defense  of  its 
members  against  exploitation,  by  means  of  Factory  Acts, 
Truck  Acts,  and  the  like.  Still  better  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  Mazzini's  prediction  is  to  be  found  in  the  ap- 
pearance and  growth  of  what  we  call  "the  social  con- 
sciousness" and  the  sense  of  corporate  duty  and  service. 
Says  Lowell, 

"Slowly  the  Bible  of  the  race  is  writ," 


and  every  age  adds  its  own  chapter. 
i6o 


The  nineteenth  ecu 


THE  PROPHET  OF  HUhlANlTY  (X-4] 

tury  did  not  write  out  this  chapter  as  fully  as  Mazzini 
had  anticipated;  but  it  at  least  began  it.  And  the  social 
movement  is  ttxlay  tin;  most  significant  fact  of  our  com- 
mon life. 

In  prcailnng  this  doctrine  of  association,  Mazzini  was, 
of  course,  ^nly  amplifying  that  old  word,  "Ye  are  mem- 
bers one  of  another." 


Tenth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

Behold,  ■  king  ihall  reign  in  righteouineii,  and  prmcrt 
ihall  rule  in  iudgement.  And  ■  man  thall  be  ai  a.n  hu'itiir 
place  from  the  wmd,  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest;  a^ 
rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place,  ai  the  ihadow  oi  a  greit 
rock  in  a  weary  land.  And  the  eyes  of  them  that  see 
shall  not  be  dim.  and  the  ears  of  them  that  hear  sl.all 
hearken.  The  heart  also  of  the  rash  shall  understand 
knowledge,  and  the  tongue  of  the  stammerers  shall  be 
ready  to  speak  plainly.  The  vile  person  shall  be  no 
more  called  liberal,  nor  the  churl  said  to  be  bountiful. 
For  the  vile  person  will  speak  viUany,  and  his  heart  will 
work  iniquity,  to  practise  profaneness,  and  to  utter  error 
against  the  Lord,  to  make  empty  the  soul  of  the  hungry, 
and  to  cause  the  drink  of  the  thirsty  to  fail.  The  instru- 
ments also  of  the  churl  are  evil:  he  deviseth  wicked 
devices  to  destroy  the  meek  with  lying  words,  even 
when  the  needy  speaketh  right.  But  the  liberal  deviseth 
"""■iUL  """■"•  *"''  '"  •'beral  things  shall  he  continue. 
.  .  .  Then  judgement  shall  dwell  in  the  wilderness,  and 
righteousness  shall  abide  in  the  fruitful  field.  And  the 
work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace;  and  the  effect  of 
righteousness  quietness  and  conHdence  for  ever.— Isa. 
3a:  1-8,  16,  17. 

"For  God  and  Humanity"— these  were  the  words  which 
Mazzini  inscribed  on  the  banner  which  he  carried  so  long 
and  so  bravely.  He  believed,  in  spite  of  all  appearance 
to  the  contrary,  that  the  passing  of  time  meant  surely 
and  certainly  the  unfolding  of  the  divine  purpose  in  man. 
The  cause  of  God  and  man  are  one.  "Man,"  says  Dr. 
Garvie,  "must  be  conceived  as  a  means  towards  God's 
161 


-:ir~^::;H:S5IMES<t*WH»l" 


[X-4] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


\l: 


It, 


ends,  but  not  as  merely  a  means,  but  a  means  in  such 
sense  th:it  he  fulfils  his  own  ends  in  realizing  God's." 
To  this  statement  Mazzini  would  have  subscribed.  Start- 
ing from  a  belief  in  the  inviolability  of  human  personality, 
Mazzini  asserts  that  the  individual  has  "his  own  mission 
of  citizenship  within  the  sphere  of  the  Fatherland." 
But  the  Fatherland,  while  itself  the  home  of  an  associa- 
tion of  individuals,  is  in  its  turn  a  unit  in  the  larger 
association  of  the  peoples,  and  Mazzini  asserts  that  all 
progress  depends  upon  a  frank  and  practical  acceptance 
of  this  principle.  Humanity  must  henceforward  move 
in  tht  mass.  It  is  through  the  mass  movement  of  the 
race  that  the  individual  is  to  come  into  his  own ;  and  this 
mass  movement  was  to  be  the  next  stage  in  the  unfolding 
of  the  divine  purpose.  That  huma,i  history,  as  Carlyle 
said,  is  at  bottom  the  history  of  certain  great  men  may 
be  true;  it  has  been  the  case  that  God  has  elevated  the 
race  by  means  of  the  giants  He  has  made — and  Mazzini 
was  assuredly  among  the  giants.  But  it  was  to  be  less 
so  in  the  future.  Mankind  would  move  onward  z 
whole.  Not  indeed  that  any  past  achievement  is  rejected. 
"Before  us  is  the  evolution  of  a  future  in  which  the  two 
eternal  elements  of  e\?ery  organization,  the  individual 
and  humanity,  liberty  and  association,  will  be  harmonized; 
in  which  one  whole  synthesis,  a  veritable  religious 
formula,  will  without  suppressing  any  in  favor  of  the 
rest,  embrace  all  the  revelations  of  progress,  all  the  holy 
ideas  that  have  been  successively  transmitted  to  us  by 
providential  design." 

Because  God  was  "in  the  beginning,"  Mazzini  be- 
lieved that,  in  spite  of  all  the  reactions  and  setbacks 
which  history  records,  the  principle  of  progress  had  been 
permanently  active  in  the  world.  He  condemns  what  he 
calls  the  "circular  movement"  school  of  history,  which 
holds  that  because  human  nature  is  always  and  every- 
where the  same,  history  must  of  necessity  go  on  for  ever 
repeating  itself.  Newman  has  expressed  the  idea: 
l&i 


THE  PROPHET  OF  HUMANITY  [X-s] 

"The  world  has  cycles  in  its  course 
That  once  has  been  is  acted  o'er  again, 
Not  by  some  fated  law  that  need  appal 
Our  faith  or  binds  our  deed  as  with  a  chain, 
But  by  men's  separate  sins  which  blended  still 
The  same  bad  round  fulfil." 

That  history  does,  though  it  need  not,  repeat  itself 
IS  Newman's  thought;  but  Mazzini  denied  that  history 
ever  repeated  itself  at  all.  Parallels  there  may  be,  but 
never  the  same  bad  round.  The  increasing  purpose  may 
\k  retarded,  but  is  never  altogether  stayed;  and,  not- 
withstanding his  own  reverses  and  disillusionments,  Maz- 
zini believed  that  nothing  could  prevent  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  the  cause  of  God  and  man.  In  one  place 
Mazzini  tells  the  story  of  Galileo  before  the  Inquisition. 
Ihe  astronomer  had  recanted,  had  withdrawn  his  detest- 
able heresy  that  the  sun  was  stationary  and  that  the 
earth  moved  around  it.  But  as  he  was  leaving  the  court, 
he  turned  and  cried,  "And  yet  it  moves  1"  "Child  of 
humanity!"  cries  Mazzini,  "raise  thy  brow  to  the  sun 
of  God  and  read  upon  its  heavens,  it  moves  I  Faith  and 
Action!    The  future  is  ours!" 

Tenth  Week,  Fifth  Day 

This  is  my  commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another 
even  as  I  have  loved  you.  Greater  love  hath  no  man 
than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends. 
Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  the  things  which  I  command 
you.  No  longer  do  I  call  you  servants;  for  the  servant 
knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth:  but  I  have  called  you 
friends;  for  all  things  that  I  heard  from  my  Father  I 
have  made  known  unto  you.  Ye  did  not  choose  me,  but 
I  chose  you,  and  appointed  you,  that  ye  should  go  and 
bear  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should  abide:  that  what- 
soever ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  my  name,  he  may 
give  It  you.  These  things  I  command  you,  that  ye  may 
love  one  another. — John  15:  ia-17. 

It  has  been  necessary  in  order  to  understand  the  place 
163 


[X-Sl 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


d 


H' 


J 


that  Jesus  occupied  in  Mazzini's  mind  to  sketch  in  some 
detail  the  vast  sweep  of  Mazzini's  own  faith  and  hope 
fov  the  world.  His  vision  includes  the  whole  race;  and 
his  mission  was  to  preach  its  unity.  Despite  all  manner 
of  discouragement,  he  went  on  preaching,  and  that  in 
no  uncertain  voice.  And  if  we  would  find  the  secret  of 
this  conquering  optimism,  we  must  turn  to  a  great  pas- 
sage in  "Faith  and  the  Future"  which  is  the  most  elabo- 
rate statement  which  Mazzini  gives  of  his  religious  faith. 
After  describing  the  state  of  utter  hopelessness  and 
darkness  into  which  the  world  had  fallen  under  the  Roman 
Empire,  when  "philosophy  had  sunk  first  into  skepticism, 
then  into  epicureanism,  then  into  subtlety  and  words,  when 
poetry  had  been  transformed  into  satire,"  he  goes  on: 

"Yet  there  were  moments  when  men  were  terror- 
stricken  by  the  solitude  around  them,  and  trembled  at 
their  isolation.  They  ran  to  embrace  the  cold  and  naked 
statues  of  their  once  venerated  gods,  to  implore  of  them 
a  spark  of  moral  life,  a  ray  of  faith,  even  an  illusion. 
They  departed,  their  prayers  unheard,  with  despair  in 
their  hearts  and  blasphemy  on  their  lips.  .  .  .  Yet  this 
was  not  the  death  agony  of  the  world.  It  was  the  con- 
clusion of  one  evolution  of  the  world  which  had  reached 
its  ultimate  expression.  A  great  epoch  was  exhausted, 
and  passing  away  lo  give  place  to  another,  the  first 
utterances  of  which  had  already  been  heard  in  the  north 
and  which  wanted  but  the  Initiator  to  be  revealed. 

He  came — the  soul  the  most  full  of  love,  the  moit 
sacredly  virtuous,  the  most  deeply  inspired  by  God  and 
by  the  future,  that  men  have  yet  seen  on  earth — Jesui 
He  bent  over  the  corpse  of  the  dead  world  and  whispered 
a  word  of  faith.  Over  the  clay  that  had  lost  all  of  man 
but  the  movement  and  the  form.  He  uttered  words  until 
then  unknown,  lovf,  sacrifice,  a  heavenly  origin.  And 
the  dead  arose.  A  new  life  circulated  through  the  clay 
which  philosophy  had  in  vain  tried  to  reanimate.  From 
that  corpse  arose  the  Christian  world,  the  world  of  liberty 

164 


THE  PROPHET  OF  HUMANITY 


[X-6] 


and  equality.     From   that  clay   arose   the  true   Man,  the 
image  of  God,  the  precursor  of  humanity. 

Christ  expired.  All  He  had  asked  of  mankind  where- 
with to  save  them,  says  Umennais,  was  a  Cross  whereon 
to  die.  But  ere  He  died,  He  had  announced  the  glad 
tidings  to  the  people ;  to  those  who  asked  of  Him  whence 
He  had  received  it,  He  answered,  'From  God  the  Father ' 
From  the  height  of  His  Cross,  he  had  invoked  Him  twice 
Therefore  upon  the  Cross  did  His  victory  begin  and 
still  does  it  endure." 

Tenth  Week,  Sixth  Day 

I  am  the  true  vine,  and  my  Father  is  the  husbandman 
Every  branch  m  me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  he  taketh  "i 

It,  that  It  may  bear  more  fruit.     Already  ye  are   clean 
because   of   the   word   which   I   have   spoken   J^to   you 

^™  t  Vf  ■f"i/"'^  ^  '"  y""'..**  the  branch  cannot  bear 
fruit  of  Itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine;  so  neither 
can  ye.  except  ye  abfde  in  me.  I  am  the  vini,  ye  are  the 
branches:  He  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  hii;,'the  sami 
beareth  much  fruit:  for  apart  from  me  ye  can  do  nothing 
It  a  man  abide  not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and 
IS  withered;  and  they  gather  them,  and  cast  them  i!ito 
H^e  fire,  and  they  are  burned.  If  ye  abide  in  me,  and 
my  words  abide  m  you,  ask  whatsoever  ye  will,  and  it 
???♦  '>«  done  unto  you.  Herein  is  my  Father  glorified, 
that  ye  bear  much  fruit;  ard  so  shall  ye  be  my  disciples 
^joBn  15: 1-8. 

It  would  be  idle  to  pretend  that  Mazzini's  view  of 
.Tcsus  and  the  Cross  can  be  squared  with  the  traditional 
doctrines  of  the  Church ;  but  here  is  a  frank  recognition 
of  the  unique  place  which  Jesus  fills  in  human  history. 
I  here  is,  however,  something  more.  Properly  under- 
stood, the  passage  quoted  in  yesterday's  reading  suggests 
the  conception  of  Jesus  as  "the  representative  man." 
It  is  not  very  important  that  Mazzini  does  not  speak 
theologically;  but  it  is  plain  that  to  him  Jesus  is  the 
-■pitome  of  humanity,  and  Calvary  a  summary  of  history. 


(X-7l 


THAT  ONE  FACIi 


That  linking  of  God  and  man  which  Jesus  in  life, 
supremely  in  death,  accomplished,  was  not  alone  the 
promise  but  the  sure  guarantee  of  human  fulfilment— 
for  man's  end  is  in  God.  In  what  Jesus  has  done  we 
see  the  pledge  of  what  man  will  be,  and  by  that  same 
path  of  love  and  sacrifice  which  led  Christ  to  Calvary 
shall  humanity  at  least  reach  God.  Christ  is  the  captain 
of  the  salvation  not  alone  of  men  but  of  Man.  The  path 
He  trod  is  the  highway  of  the  eternal  purpose.  "We 
advance,"  says  Mazzini,  "encouragec'  by  the  sacred  prom- 
ise of  Jesus"— the  promise  not  only  spoken  in  words  but 
explicit  in  His  life  and  work;  and  this  promise  was  the 
sure  destiny  of  man  in  God.  He  "bestowed  upon  the 
human  race  that  sublime  formula  of  brotherhood,"  but,  in 
Mazzini's  view,  brotherhood  was  not  an  end  but  a  means 
to  an  end.  He  believed  that  men  cannot  relate  them- 
selves rightly  to  God  save  through  "collective  humanity." 
We  shall  see  the  glory  of  God  when  we  see  it  together. 
This  is  the  truth  that  Christianity  recognizes  in  its 
emphasis  upon  "the  communion  of  saints";  man  realizes 
himself  only  in  fellowship,  and  it  is  therefore  only  so 
far  as  he  consciously  participates  in  the  forward  move- 
ment of  the  race  towards  the  widest  possible  fellowship, 
that  he  can  bring  himself  fully  into  union  with  God. 
Mazzini  did  not  at  any  time  deny  the  possibility  of 
personal  communion  with  God;  indeed,  more  than  once, 
he  bade  men  pray:  but  personal  religion  was  not  his 
peculiar  message.  He  was  charged  to  declare  to  men 
that  it  is  only  through  conscious  and  deliberate  identifica- 
tion of  oneself  with  the  body  of  mankind  that  the  union 
of  God  and  man — man's  chief  end  and  God's  chief  aim 
— can  in  the  end  be  secured. 


Tenth  Week,  Seventh  Day 

But  now  put  ye  also  away  all  these;  anger,  wrath, 
malice,  railing,  shameful  speaking  out  of  your  mouth; 
lie  not  one  to  another;  seeing  that  ye  have  put  off  the 

i66 


THE  PROPHET  OF  HUMANITY  [X-j] 

old  man  with  his  doing*,  and  have  put  on  the  new  m>n 
which  IS  being  renewed  unto  knowledge  after  the  im...' 
of  him  that  created.him:  where  there' cannot  be  G?Jfk 

l2^hI.T'hS'H'*™"V°"  ""<*  ""'*«"n,ci.ion?  bMb«iiSC 
SCTthian,  bondman,  freeman:  but  Christ  is  all   amS  in  ^^ 

h«r?„°f"  *"«*°r«.  ".God's  elect,  hoy  and  belovSd  a" 
heart  of  compassion,  kindness,  humility  meekne.«Ion<r 
.uffermjr:   forbearing  one   another.  Ind  ""S   eafh 

the  Loin  /l^  """  ^"^  "  """Plaint  against  aSy  e'en  „ 
the  Lord  forgave  you,  so  also  do  ye:  and  above  all  these 
hing,  put  on  love,  which  is  the  bond  of  perfectSeVs  And 
let  the  peace  of  Christ  rule  in  your  hearts  to  the  which 
Co"  lUZT  ""'«»  *°  °-  «""ly:  «nd"be"'ye'°th«kftil!!l! 

Christ   in   his   relation   to  collective   man— that  is  the 
contribution  that  Mazzini  makes  to  our  thought  of  Jesus 

1  he  Italian  prophet  had  an  eye  and  a  heart  for  the 
multitude;  and  the  sins  and  imperfections  of  the  in- 
dividual were  for  him  merged  in  the  need  of  the  whole 

In  contemplating  men,  say,  soldiers,  weavers,  colliers 
in  a  collective  body,"  says  Dora  Greenwell  in  her  beau- 
tiful book  Two  Friends,"  "we  feel  the  heart  drawn  out 
in  a  deepened  sympathy  which  none  among  them  as  in- 
dividuals  would   command Does   it   not   arise   from 

being  brought  within  the  influences  of  the  broad  tend- 
encies of  humanity  where  individual  limitations  disap- 
pear, swept  away  by  the  force  of  the  current?  Such 
moments  seem  to  say  to  us,  'Behold  the  Man';  they  are 
baptismal  and  endue  the  soul  with  much  strength 
Passion,   interest,  caprice,   belong  to   the  individual;   and 

Vox  De,,  that  a  number  of  persons  acting  together  are 
nattirally  less  under  the  control  of  circumstfnce  'thi! 
world  s  unspintual  God,'  and  less  fettered  by  prejudice 
than    he  few      Also  we  know  that  in  every  lump  \here 

n/tnthf",  "°'''*:""^^°'"<=.  perhaps  many,  tender 
and  truthful  souls.      The  heart  of  a  people,   if  it  could 

'lit   speak,    IS   always  in   its  right  place.  ...  And   it   is 

this,   too,    which  gives   such   a   double   dye   to   all   sins 

167 


(X-s] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


II! 

■V 


-I 


against  national  freedom,  which  is  but  the  expression 
of  a  people's  life.  If  it  is  a  crime  to  slay  a  man,  what 
must  it  be  to  strike  against  a  nation,  to  kill  a  man  in 
his  organic  life?  ...  To  break  faith  with  a  nation  is 
to  break  r  deeper  trust,  to  blight  a  fuller  hope  than 
can  be  involved  in  any  treachery  towards  the  individual. 
Who  is  this,  the  true  Antichrist,  he  that  denieth  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  but  the  absolutist  and  the  tyrant? 
We  are  surely  not  sufficiently  sen-sible  of  the  atheism 
involved  in  the  deep  iniquity  of  oppression.  //  is  the 
denial  of  God  through  the  denial  of  Man." 

This  is  Mazzini's  own  religion  and  philosophy;  only 
he  goes  still  farther.  For  he  goes  beyond  national 
frontiers  and  believes  that  the  time  will  come  when 
"the  lips  of  patriots  will  cease  to  utter  the  word  foreigner 
as  a  term  r,i  reproach,  which,  in  men  calling  themselves 
brothers,  is  a  blasphemy  against  the  Cross  of  Christ." 
On  Calvary  Mazzini  saw  the  pledge  and  promise  of 
human  solidarity,  because  there  he  saw  the  representa- 
tive man  in  perfect  union  with  God.  The  Cross  of 
Christ  is  the  seal  of  human  brotherhood,  the  triumph 
of  the  Cross  the  earnest  of  that  coming  synthesis,  that 
"perfect  man,"  in  whom  "there  cannot  be  Greek  and 
Jew,  circumcision  and  uncircumcision,  barbariaiij 
Scythian,  bondman,  freeman:  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all." 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

Is  patriotism  consistent  with  Christianity?  Can  you 
find  any  evidence  to  justify  us  in  saying  that  Jesus  was 
a  patriot? 

Do  you  think  Jesus  would  have  believed  in  a  "league 
of  nations"?  If  so,  what  are  the  grounds  on  which  you 
think  so? 

Mazzini's  great  idea   was  that  liberty  and  association 
must  always  go  together.     Can  you  recall  any  sayings  of 
Jesus  which  suggest  that  He  also  believed  this? 
i68 


CHAPTER  XI 


The  Prophet  of  Service — John 

Ruskin 

(1819— 1900) 

Ruskin,  like  Browning  and  Tennyson,  is  one  of  the 
peaks  of  nineteenth  century  Britain.  But  the  intellectual 
storms  which  fell  upon  the  poets  seem  on  the  whole  to 
have  passed  the  prophet  by.  This  is,  no  doubt,  due  to 
the  circumstance  that  Ruskin's  chief  interest  lay  in  the 
province  of  Art;  and  though  this  province  was  visited 
by  tempest,  it  was  from  another  source  and  of  another 
kind.  It  was  in  a  sense  a  domestic  controversy  con- 
cerning principles  and  methods  in  Art.  Roughly  it  may 
be  said  that,  apart  from  questions  of  technique,  Ruskin's 
great  mission  was  to  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  truth 
and  righteousness  in  Art  as  it  had  been  Savonarola's 
mission  in  the  State.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered 
in  this  connection— so  fundamentally  one  is  life— that 
Ruskin's  interest  in  Art  led  him  to  become  a  preacher 
of  economic  change.  Like  his  great  contemporary,  Wil- 
liam Morris,  he  saw  that  the  banishment  of  beauty  from 
life  was  the  result  of  the  prevailing  commercial  and 
industrial  order;  and  he  came  to  believe  in  the  need  of 
drastic  economic  reformation  as  a  condition  of  restoring 
beauty  to  life.  His  economic  philosophy  he  stated  ii  a 
little  volume,  "Unto  This  Last,"  which  was  much  derided 
by  the  orthodox  economists  when  it  appeared,  but  which 
has  since  exercised  a  profound  influence  upon  economic 
169 


IXI-i) 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


thought.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  humanizing 
of  economic  science  in  our  time  owes  its  chief  impetus 
to  Ruskin's  work. 

Ruskin's  most  important  works  are  treatises  on  the 
fine  arts,  the  chief  being  "Modern  Painters,"  "The  Seven 
Lamps  of  Architecture,"  "The  Stones  of  Venice,"  and 
they  owe  their  power  not  less  to  the  beauty  of  their 
literary  composition  than  to  their  subject-matter  and  the 
treatment  of  it.  It  is  worth  noticing  that  Ruskin  at- 
tributed the  acknowledged  beauty  .f  his  English  to  his 
familiarity  with  the  Authorizei     ,'ersion  of  the  Bible. 

"When  people  read,"  wrd^  Ruskin  in  "Modern 
Painters,"  "  'the  law  came  by  Moses  but  grace  and  truth 
through  Jesus  Christ,'  do  they  suppose  it  means  that 
the  law  was  ungracious  or  untrue?  The  law  was  given 
for  a  foundation,  the  grace  (or  mercy)  and  truth  for 
fulfilment;  the  whole  forming  one  glorious  trinity  of 
judgment,  mercy,  and  truth."  Years  later  Ruskin  re- 
p-oduced  this  passage  in  "Frondes  Agrestes,"  and  added 
a  footnote :  "A  great  deal  of  the  presumption  and  narrow- 
ness caused  by  my  having  been  bred  in  the  evangelical 
schools,  and  which  now  fill  me  with  shame  and  distress 
in  re-reading  'Modern  Painters,'  is,  to  my  present  mind, 
atoned  for  by  the  accurate  thinking  by  which  I  broke 
my  way  through  to  the  great  truth  expressed  in  this 
passage,  which  all  my  later  works,  without  exception, 
have  bi  en  directed  to  maintain  and  illustrate."  We  may 
question  even  now  whether  Ruskin  correctly  expounds 
the  Scripture  passage  which  he  quotes;  but  there  can 
be  no  question  that  we  have  here  the  real  clue  to  Ruskin's 
philosophy  of  life. 

To  think  justly,  to  love  mercy,  to  speak  and  act  truth 
— without  these  there  can  be  neither  goodness  nor  great- 
ness, in  Art  or  in  Literature,  in  the  State  or  in  individual 
life.  Neglect  these  things,  and  degeneracy  sets  in.  In 
"The  Stones  of  Venice"  Ruskin  has  shown  how  the 
period  of  Venetian  prosperity  and  the  golden  age  of  its 
170 


THE  PROPHET  OF  SERVICE  [XI-,J 

art  WW  al»o  the  time  of  its  devotion  to  high  moral 
.deals:  but  when  the  moral  standard,  becami  obsTre 
vnnl,  v''''"'^'^"""^  "'  indulgence,  in  the  ™ariede,  of 
nlH  h'  uT^  '"'P"""^  "''  ='''"  °f  Christendom  a  of 
hir  frf  H  r  "''^^''f  "'"="'  '"  f°"""de  and  devotion  " 
her  art  dechned,  and  "by  the  inner  burning  of  her  own 
passions,  as  fatal  as  the  fiery  rain  of  Gomorrah  The 
was  consumed  from  her  place  among  the  nXns  a.ld 
her  ashes  are  choking  the  channels  of^he  dead  sal  'sea  " 
This  IS  a  true  philosophy  of  life  and  history. 

^^°form  -n  k""'"'*  ""r"'^  "«  "-■   available  in  a  cheap 
form  in  Everyman's  Library.]  P 

DAILY  READINGS 
Eleventh  Week,  First  Day 

kLa     •■•"'*"•»•>  not  with  hii  tongue. 

Tn  LJ!.  •*  "P  ■  reproach  aninit  his  neirtbonr 

— Psalm  15. 

hi/n°'!L^r'''"  *'.'  ",^""="'y  a  "ligious  soul,   and  to 
S    rl  °^  •'"''^'°"   ^''^  '^on'munion   w  th  God. 

But     communion     with     God     requires     two     conditions 
The  first  IS  that  man  shall  possess  moral  qualitie     c",: 

says  Rusk.n      to  a  nature  capable  ot  truth,  desirous  of 

.t.  distinguishing  it,  feeding  upon  it.  that  revelation  is 

171 


|XI-iI 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


IMjssiblc.  There  can  l)c  nmic  to  a  brute  or  to  a  fiend. 
In  so  far,  therefore,  as  you  love  truth  and  live  therein, 
in  so  far  revelation  can  exist  for  you;  and  in  so  far, 
your  mind  is  the  image  of  God."  This  is  simply  an 
expansion  of  an  older  word— "Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God."  It  is  in  the  measure  that 
truth  and  justice  and  love  are  our  own  personal  quali- 
ties that  we  shall  be  able  to  receive  and  apprehend  the 
word  in  which  God  reveals  Himself.  The  image  of  God 
within  is  "defiled,  if  you  will;  broken,  if  you  will;  all 
but  effaced,  if  you  will,  by  death  and  the  shadow  of  it." 
For  all  that  it  is  "a  mirror  wherein  may  be  seen  darkly 
the  image  of  the  mind  of  God." 

The  second  condition  of  communion  with  God  is  that 
God's  mind  should  be  expressed  in  terms  that  our  finite 
minds  can  grasp.  "In  order  to  make  this  communion 
possible,  the  Deity  has  stooped  from  His  throne  and  has 
not  only  in  the  person  of  the  Son  taken  upon  Him  the 
veil  of  our  human  flesh,  but  in  the  person  of  the  Father 
taken  upon  Him  the  veil  of  our  human  thoughts  and 
permitted  us  to  conceive  Him  simply  and  clearly  as  a 
loving  Father  and  Friend,  a  Being  to  be  walked  with 
and  reasoned  with,  to  be  moved  by  our  entreaties,  to  be 
angered  by  our  rebellion,  alienated  by  our  coldness, 
pleased  by  our  love,  and  glorified  by  our  labour,  and 
finally  to  be  beheld  in  immediate  and  active  presence  in 
all  the  powers  and  changes  ol  creation.  This  conception 
of  God,  which  is  the  child's,  is  evidently  the  only  one 
which  can  be  universal,  and  therefore  the  only  one 
which  for  us  can  be  true." 

It  is  clear  that  Ruskin  accepted  the  truth  of  the  Iti- 
carnation  fully;  and  again  and  again  he  insists  upon  it 
as  the  central  fact  of  the  Gospel.  Sometimes  he  dis- 
covers a  meaning  in  it  which  may  not  commend  itself  to 
us ;  but,  taking  it  altogether,  there  is  a  wealth  and  variety 
in  Ruskin's  interpretation  of  Jesus  which  may  not  easily 
be  fully  expressed  in  a  small  compass. 
173 


THE  PROPHET  OF  SERVICE 


(Xl-a] 


Eleventh  Week,  Second  Day 

If  then  ye  were  raited  together  with  Chriet,  icek  the 
thingi  that  are  above,  where  Christ  if,  seated  on  the 
right  hand  u£  Ood.  Set  your  mind  on  the  things  that 
are  above,  not  on  the  things  that  are  upon  the  errth. 
„?l  ye^died,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  Ood. 
When  Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  be  manifested,  then 
shall  ye  also  with  him  be  manifested  in  glory,— Col. 
3:1-4- 

Ruskin  had  been  brought  up  in  the  straitcst  evangelical- 
ism— a  phase  of  Christian  thought  which,  because  it  was 
a  protest  against  both  the  dry  liberalism  and  the  formal 
High-Churchmanship  of  the  late  eighteenth  and  early 
nineteenth  centuries,  cast  itself  into  forms  more  rigid 
than  a  larger  outlook  could  possibly  consent  to.  While 
Ruskin  deplored  the  narrowness  which  this  type  of 
Christianity  had  induced  in  him,  and  he  had  in  many 
respects  departed  from  it,  yet  he  remained  true  to  its 
essential  features  to  the  eml.  We  have  seen  his  confes- 
sion that  while  he  was  writing  "Modern  I'ainters,"  he 
was  still  under  the  influence  of  the  older  ideas;  but  he 
shows  in  "Praeterita"  that  even  at  the  end  of  his  life 
what  was  fundamental  in  his  early  inheritance  was  still 
with  him.  "What  a  child,"  he  says,  "cannot  understand 
of  Christianity  no  man  need  try  to.  .  .  .  The  total  mean- 
ing was  and  is  that  God  who  made  earth  and  its  crea- 
tures took  at  a  certain  time  on  the  earth  the  flesh  and 
the  form  of  man;  in  that  flesh  sustained  the  pain  and 
died  the  death  of  the  creature  He  had  made;  rose  after 
death  into  glorious  human  life;  and  when  the  date  of  the 
human  race  is  ended,  will  return  in  visible  human  form 
and  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  work.  Chris- 
tianity is  the  belief  in  and  love  of  God  thus  manifested." 

There  is  no  great  disparity  betwen  this  and  his  earlier 

view.      Vet    in    one    important    respect    Ruskin    departed 

materially    from   his   first    faith.     The   evangelicalism   in 

which  he  had  been  bred  had  chiefly  emphasized  the  death 

173 


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^=  (716)   288-  5989  -  Fo* 


(XI-3] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


of  Jesus.  Ruskin  shifts  he  larger  emphasis  to  the  riV.'ii 
Christ.  This  does  not  mean  that  he  did  not  attach 
great  significance  to  the  death  of  Jesus,  but  he  felt 
rather  the  immense  and  wonderful  signiiicance  of  the 
thought  that  Jesus  lives  today,  and  that  the  chief  busi- 
ness of  His  disciples  is  to  be  in  a  living  and  immediate 
obedience  to  Him.  In  the  "Lectures  on  Art,"  he  deplores 
the  wasted  time  and  the  wasted  emotion  of  the  tender 
and  delicate  women  of  Christendom,  when  they  have 
been  called  "through  the  four  arts  of  eloquence,  music, 
painting,  and  sculpture,"  to  contemplate  "the  bodily  pain, 
long  passed"  of  "the  Master  who  is  not  dead  and  who  is 
not  now  fainting  under  His  Cross,  but  requiring  us  to 
take  up  ours."  Speaking  of  ihe  sculpture  on  the  great 
central  porch  of  Amiens  Cathedral,  he  says,  "Christ 
never  appears,  or  is  for  a  moment  thought  of,  as  the 
crucified  or  the  dead;  but  as  the  Incarnate  Word,  as  the 
present  Friend,  as  the  Prince  of  Peace  on  earth,  and 
as  the  Everlasting  King  in  heaven.  What  His  life  i'.!, 
what  His  commands  an;  and  what  His  judgment  tt'i//  be, 
are  the  things  taught  here;  not  what  He  once  did,  or 
what  He  once  suffered,  but  what  He  is  now  doing  and 
what  He  requires  us  to  do.  That  is  the  pure  joyful  les- 
son of  Christianity,  and  the  fall  from  that  faith  and 
the  corruption  of  its  abortive  practice  may  be  summed 
up  briefly  as  the  habitual  contemplation  of  Christ's  death 
instead  of  His  life:  the  substitution  of  His  past  suffering 
for  our  present  duty." 

But  is  this,  after  all,  anything  different  from  St.  Paul's 
thought:  "For  if  .  .  .  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through 
the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  shall 
we  be  saved  by  his  life "  ? 


Eleventh  Week,  Third  Day 

Wherefore  if  any  man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  crea- 
ture: the  old  things  are  passed  away;  behold,  they  are 
become  new.    But  all  things  are  of  God,  who  reconciled 

174 


THE  PROPHET  OF  SERVICE 


[XI-J] 


us  to  himself  through  Christ,  and  gave  unto  us  the 
ministry  of  reconciliation;  to  wit,  that  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not  reckon- 
Im^„"V?.*°n,  ^a"1  trespasses,   and  having   committed 

unto  us  the  word  of  reconciliation. 

We  are  ambassadors  therefore  on  behalf  of  Christ, 
kIi*  if"5f  ^u^'!"^^  intreating  by  us:  we  beseech  you  on 
behalf  of  Christ,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.  Him  who 
knew  no  sm  he  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf:  that  we 
might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.— II 
cor,  5:  17-ai. 

Ruskin's  emphasis  on  the  living  Christ  does  not  lead 
Jiim   to   undervalue    the   gospel    history.      He    speaks   of 
three    facts,    without    assurance    of    which    all    faith    is 
vain— namely,  that  Christ  died,  that  He  rose  again,  and 
that  He  ascended  into  heaven,  there  to  prepare  a  place 
for  His  elect."     Indeed,  it  is  only  from   what  we  know 
of  the  historical   Jesus   that   we   can  gain  any  confident 
knowledge  of  the  living  Christ;   and  in  this  connection 
Ruskin  insists  strongly  upon  the  real  and  eternal  manhood 
of   Christ.      The   glorified   Christ    is    no   other    than    the 
man  Jesus— the  same  yesterday,  today,  and  forever.    "Our 
preachers,"  he  complains,  "are  continually   trying  in  all 
manner    of    subtle    ways    to    explain    the    union    of    the 
Divinity  with  the   Manhood,  -in   explanation   which   cer- 
tainly   involves    first    their    being    able    to    describe    the 
nature  of  the  Deity  itself  or,  in  plain  words,  to  appre- 
hend God.    They  never  can  explain,  in  any  one  particular, 
the  union  of  the  natures;  they  only  succeed  in  weaken- 
ing the   faith   of   their   hearers   as   to   the   entireness   of 
either.     The  thing  they  have  to  do  is  precisely  the  con- 
trary to  this— to  insist  upon  the  entireness  of  both.     We 
never    think   of    Christ   enough    as    God,    never    enough 
as  Man :  the  instinctive  habit  of  our  minds  bein<;-  always 
to  miss  of  the  divinity,  and  the   reasoning  and  enforced 
habit  to  miss  of  the  humanity.     We  are  afraid  to  har- 
bour in  our  own   hearts,  or  to  utter   in  the  hearing  of 
others,   any   thought   of   our   Lord    as   hungering,    tired, 
I7S 


[XI-41 


THAT  ONE  I- ACE 


sorrowful,  having  a  human  soul,  a  human  will,  and 
affected  by  events  of  human  life,  as  a  finite  creature  is; 
and  yet  one  half  of  the  efficiency  of  His  atonement  and 
the  whole  of  the  efficiency  of  His  example  depend  upon 
His  having  been  this  to  the  full"— which  is,  of  course, 
uncommonly  good  sense. 

Eleventh  Week,  Fourth  Day 

And  they  constrained  hira,  saying,  Abide  with  us : 
for  ;t  :s  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  now  far  spent. 
And  he  went  in  to  abide  with  them.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  he  had  sat  down  with  them  to  meat,  he  took 
the  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake,  and  gave  to  them. 
And  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  him;  and 
he  vanished  out  of  their  sight.  And  they  said  one  to 
another,  Was  not  ova  heart  burning  within  us,  while 
he  spake  to  us  in  the  way,  while  he  opened  to  us  the 
scriptures?  And  they  rose  up  that  very  hour,  and 
returned  to  Jerusalem,  and  found  the  eleven  gathered 
together,  and  them  that  were  with  them,  saying.  The 
Lord  is  risen  indeed,  and  hath  appeared  to  Simon.  And 
they  rehearsed  the  things  that  happened  in  the  way, 
and  how  he  was  known  of  them  in  the  breaking  of  the 
bread. — Luke  34:  39-35- 

The  example  of  the  Jesus  of  history  is  for  His  disciples 
the  law  of  the  Christ  of  glory.  And  the  commandments 
of  this  law  are  not  merely  the  words  of  an  ancient 
record,  but  words  which  come  to  us  straight  from  the 
high  throne  cm  which  the  Living  Lord  is  set.  In  His 
Law  is  our  life.  Jesus  revealed  not  only  God  but  man, 
and  by  His  life  He  has  shown  wherein  our  life  consists. 
And  just  as  the  Son  of  Man  came  to  minister,  and  as 
He  ministered  above  all,  to  the  poor,  the  outcast,  and 
the  broken,  so  also  is  our  life  to  consist  in  such  lowli- 
ness of  service.  "Could  we,"  asks  our  author,  "possibly 
have  had  more  distinct  indication  of  the  purpose  of  the 
Master,  first  borne  by  the  witness  of  the  shepherds  in 
a  cattle-shed,  then  by  the  witness  of  the  person  for  whom 
He  had  done  most  and  who  loved  Him  best,  in  the 
176 


THE  PROPHET  OF  SERVICE 


[Xl-Sl 


garden  and  in  gardener's  guise,  and  not  known  by  His 
familiar  friends  till  He  gave  them  bread— could  it  be 
told  us,  I  repeat,  more  definitely  by  any  sign  or  indica- 
tion whatsoever  that  the  noblest  human  life  was  appointed 
to  be  by  the  cattle-fold  and  in  the  garden,  and  to  be 
known  as  noble  in  the  breaking  of  bread?"  This  ex- 
pression "the  breaking  of  bread"  is  symbolical  through- 
out Ruskin's  works  of  lowly  deeds  of  mercy,  of  loving 
care  for  the  poor  and  the  spent;  and  the  reward  of 
those  who  break  bread  is  that  it  brings  them  the  vision 
of  Christ. 

This  conception  of  life  and  discipleship  as  service  is 
Ruskin's  real  gospel  and  he  expands  it  in  various  forms. 
In  "Unto  This  Last"  he  says  that  in  every  community 
there  are  four  great  intellectual  professions — the  sol- 
dier's, to  defend  it;  the  lawyer's,  to  secure  justice  in  ^t; 
the  pastor's,  to  teach  it;  and  the  merchant's,  to  provide 
for  it.  And  it  is  the  duty  of  each  of  these,  he  says, 
"on  due  occasion  to  die  for  it."  This  requirement  of  an 
absolute  devotion  of  service,  stated  so  uncompromisingly, 
is  the  logic  of  Ruskin's  own  view  of  Christianity  and 
of  Jesus.  He  who  was  obedient  unto  death  requires  the 
same  quality  of  obedience  in  His  followers. 

Kleventh  Week,  Fifth  Day 

But  Mary  was  standing  without  at  the  tomb  weeping- 
so,  as  she  wept,  she  stooped  and  looked  into  the  tomb; 
and  she  beholdeth  two  angels  in  white  sitting,  oni  at 
the  head,  and  one  at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus 
had  lain.  And  they  say  unto  her.  Woman,  why  weepest 
thou?  She  saith  unto  them,  Because  they  have  taken 
away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
him.  When  she  had  thus  said,  she  turned  herself  back, 
and  beholdeth  Jesus  standing,  and  knew  not  that  it  was' 
Jesus.  Jesus  saith  unto  her.  Woman,  why  weepest  thou? 
whom  seekest  thou?  She,  supposing  him  to  be  the 
gardener,  saith  unto  him.  Sir,  if  thou  hast  borne  him 
hence,  tell  me  where  thou  hast  laid  him,  and  I  will  take 
him  away.     Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Mary.     She  tumeth 

177 


IXI-SJ 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


herself,  and  saith  unto  him  in  Hebrew,  Rabboni;  which 
is  to  say.  Master.  Jesus  saith  to  her.  Touch  me  not; 
for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  nto  the  Father:  but  go 
imto  my  brethren,  and  say  to  them,  I  ascend  unto  my 
Father  and  your  Father,  and  my  God  and  your  God. — 
John  ao:  11-17. 

This  life  of  service  has  its  own  peculiar  rc-vards ;  re- 
fusal of  it,  its  peculiar  penalties.  "Take  Christ  at  His 
literal  word,  and  so  sure  as  His  word  is  true,  He  will 
be  known  of  you  in  tne  breaking  of  bread.  Refuse  that 
servant's  duty  because  it  is  plain,  seek  cither  to  serve 
God  or  know  Him  in  any  other  way,  your  service  will 
become  mockery  of  Him  and  your  knowledge  darkness." 
Ruskin  is  here  simply  enforcing  the  principle  which  we 
have  already  found  in  a  previous  passage:  the  measure 
of  our  likeness  to  God  is  the  measure  of  our  apprehension 
of  Him.  It  is  the  same  with  the  understanding  of  Christ. 
"There  is  only  one  light  by  which  you  can  read  the  life 
of  Christ— the  light  of  the  life  which  you  now  lead  in 
the  flesh;  and  that  not  the  natural  life,  but  the  won  life. 
'Nevertheless  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me.'  " 
But  the  indwelling  Christ  will  through  us  do  the  works 
of  Christ;  and  in  that  service  is  vision.  In  a  passage 
in  "Sesame  and  Lilies,"  where  he  speaks  of  the  poor 
and  helpless  children  of  England,  "the  feeble  florets, 
with  all  their  fresh  leaves  torn  and  their  stems  broken," 
he  asks,  "will  you  not  go  down  among  them  nor  set  them 
in  order  in  their  little  fragrant  beds,  nor  fence  them, 
in  their  trembling,  from  the  fierce  wind?"  And  after 
quoting  Tennyson's  lines, 

"Come  into  the  garden,  Maud, 
I  am  here  at  the  gate  alone," 

he  goes  on:  "who  is  it,  think  you,  who  stands  at  the 
gate  of  the  .sweeter  garden,  alone,  waitinr:  for  you? 
Did  you  ever  hear  not  of  a  Maude  but  a  Madeleine,  who 
went  down  to  her  garden  in  the  dawn  and  found  One 
178 


THE  PROPHET  OF  SERVICE 


lXI-6) 


waiting  at  the  gate  whom  she  supp,;sed  to  be  the  gar- 
dener? Have  you  not  sought  Him  often;  s..-.ight  Him 
11  vain,  all  through  the  night;  sought  Him  in  vain  at  the 
gate  of  that  old  garden  wlicre  the  fiery  swqrd  is  sot' 
He  IS  never  there,  but  at  the  gate  of  this  gnrdni  He  is 
waiting  always— waiting  to  take  your  hand— ready  to  sec 
the  fruits  of  the  valley,  to  see  whether  the  vine  has 
flourished  and  the  pomegranate  budded." 

Eleventh  Week,  Sixth  Day 

But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  com-  in  his  glory,  and 
all  the  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  on  the  throne 
of  his  glory:  and  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  the 
!!f  l.?,"'"u""'l''j  "''*"  "partite  them  one  from  another, 
Xau  ^'Ifi;*'"''*  separateth  the  sheep  from  the  goats 
and  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the 
Sn^K-  ""■  *^f  u'"j  J*""  *•""  t*"*  King  say  unto  ther^ 
h^ri^'^/'l*?*  ^""'''  Come,  ye  blessed  of  m/ Father,  in- 
hent  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world:  for  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me 
meat:  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink:  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me: 
I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me:  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye 
«^n.""T°  T-  J^""  '''""  "?«  "Bhteous  answer  him, 
llJ^'r}'°lu'  "•'"^sa*  *e  thee  an  hungred,  and  fed 
thee?  or  athirst,  and  gave  thee  drink?     And  when  saw 

dothed'th*,-V"r*S''  S"**  ^°°^  **"u«   '"'   °'   ""'''d,  and 
Clothed  thee?    And  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison 

sa"v  «l?r^.r'°  v"-       T*""^  *••«   K'"«  =hall  answer  and 
say  unto  tfcBm,  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye 

„.  /-4'^*°  °."'  °^  *''il'  "y  brethren,  even  these  least, 
on  %i  LTILTt,  Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them 
^t.,  1  I  hand.  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  the 
!!l^  t "  which  IS  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
\l}^iJ^\^  "^^  ^"  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat: 
1  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink:  I  was  a  straneer 
and  ye  took  me  not  in;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not; 
sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not.  Then  shall 
they  also  answer,  saying.  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an 
hungred,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick, 
or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto  thee?  Then  shall 
he  answer  them,  saying,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inas- 
much  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one  of  these  least,  ye  did  it 


lXI-61 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


"0 


'    I 


not  unto  me.  And  these  ihall  go  away  into  eternal 
punishment:  but  the  righteous  into  eternal  life. — Matt. 
a5:3»-46. 

This  thought  of  meeting  Jesus  in  the  service  of  the 
brolcen  is,  of  course,  common  enough  in  literature.  It 
is  the  subject  of  two  of  James  Russell  Lowell's  poems, 
"The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal"  and  "The  Search."  In 
the  latter,  the  poet  tells  us  how  he  had  sought  Christ 
in  nature,  in  the  halls  of  the  rich,  and  in  the  houses  of 
worship,  and,  turning  from  his  vain  quest  into  the  streets 
of  the  city,  he  saw  the  prints  of  bleeding  feet: 

"I  followed  where  they  led. 
And  in  a  hovel  rude, 
W'>h  naught  to  fence  the  weather  from  his  head, 
»  he  King  I  sought  for  meekly  stood ; 
A  naked  hungry  child 
Clung  round  his  gracious  knee. 
And  a  poor  hunted  slave  looked  up  and  smiled 

To  bless  the  smile  that  set  him  free; 
New  miracles  I  saw  his  presence  do, 

No  more  I  knew  the  hovel  bare  and  poor, 
The  gathered  chips  into  a  woodpile  grew, 

The  broken  morsel  swelled  to  goodly  store. 
I  knelt  and  wept :  my  Christ  no  more  I  seek. 
His  throne  is  with  the  outcast  and  the  wck." 

"Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these  ye 
have  done  it  unto  me."  The  service  of  Jesus  is  the 
scrvjte  of  the  broken  and  the  speni.;  and  for  no  service 
is  there  ampler  recompense.  "Obey  the  word  (of  Christ) 
in  its  simplicity,  in  wholeness  of  purpose,  and  serenity 
of  sacrifice  .  .  .  and  truly  you  shall  receive  sevenfold 
into  your  bosom  in  this  present  life  and  in  the  world 
to  come  life  everlasting.  All  your  knowledge  will  be- 
come to  you  clear  and  sure,  all  your  footsteps  safe:  in 
the  present  brightness  of  domestic  life  you  will  foretaste 
the  joy  of  Paradise,  and  to  your  children's  children 
bequeath  not  only  noble  fame  but  endless  virt'.e." 
i8o 


THn  PRorrrr.T  of  service         (xi-71 
Eleventh  Week,  Seventh  Day 

For  behold  your  calling,  brethren,  how  that  not  many 
w.se  atter  the  flesh,  not  many  mifhty,  not  many  noble, 
are  called:  but  God  chose  the  foolish  things  of  the 
world,  that  he  might  put  to  shame  them  that  are  wise: 
and  God  chose  the  weak  things  of  the  world,  that  he 
might  put  to  shame  the  things  that  are  strong;  and  the 
base  thinRs  of  the  world,  and  the  things  that  are  despised, 
did  God  choose,  yea  and  the  things  that  are  not,  that  he 
might  brmg  to  nought  the  things  that  are:  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  before  God.  But  of  him  are  ye  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  was  made  unto  us  wisdom  from  God,  and 
righteousness  and  sanctification,  and  redemption:  that 
according  as  it  is  written.  He  that  glorieth.  let  him  glory 
in  the  Lord. — I  Cor.  i ;  36-31. 

Upon  this  loyal  obedience  all  the  good  of  life  hangs 
"The  strength  and  joy  and  height  of  achievement  of  any 
group  or  race  of  mankind  has,  from  the  day  of  Christ's 
nativity  to  this  hour,  been  in  exact  proportion  to  their 
power  of  apprehending  and  honesty  in  obeying  the  truth 
of  His  Gospel."  And  the  moral  obviously  is:  "Be  sure 
that  you  are  serving  Christ,  till  you  are  tired  and  can 
do  no  more  for  that  time;  and  then,  even  if  you  have 
not  breath  enough  left  to  say  '.Master,  Master,'  with.  He 
will  not  mind.  Begin  therefore  'today'  ...  to  do  good 
for  Him— whether  you  live  or  die."  And  to  those  who 
thus  obey  Him,  he  becomes  "all  in  all."  "The  early 
believers  knew  that  the  believer  who  had  Christ  had  all 
Did  he  need  fortitude?  Christ  was  his  rock.  Equity' 
Christ  was  his  righteousness.  Holiness?  Christ  was  his 
sanctification.  Liberty?  Christ  was  his  redemption. 
Temperance?  Christ  was  his  ruler.  Wisdom?  Christ 
was  his  light.  Truthfulness?  Christ  was  the  truth 
Charity?  Christ  was  love."  Throughout  his  life  he  is 
sustained  by  Christ,  and  in  that  sustenance  is  perfect 
satisfaction.  "It  is  enough  for  Christ's  sheep  that  they 
find  tlieinselves  on  Christ's  shoulders.'' 
Ruskin's  Clnisi  is  the  living  and  ever  sufficient  Mas- 
181 


(Xl->i 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


ter,  who  in  grace  governs  and  sustains  His  servants, 
".hose  life  is  their  pattc'i.  whose  indwelling  is  their 
strength.  It  is  the  Christ  i  whom  St.  Pai  ,  in  Frederic 
Myers's  poem,  says: 

"Yea,  thiough  life,  death,  through  sorrow  and  through 
sinning, 
Christ  shall  sufRre  me,  for  he  hath  sufficed; 
Christ  is  the  end,  for  Christ  is  the  beginning, 
Christ  the  beginning,  for  the  end  is  Christ." 

SUGOEfiTICNS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

IS  Ruskin  right  in  saying  that  the  sufferings  and  death 
of  Jesus  have  been  over-emphasized  in  the  past? 

"What  a  child  cannot  understand  of  Christianity  no 
man  need  try  to."     Discuss  this  statement. 

What  are  the  "due  occasions"  on  which  the  lawyer 
and  the  merchant  should  die  for  their  country? 


at 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Universal  Jesus 

The  inqufry  upon  which  we  have  been  engaged  could 
of  course,  be  continued  indefinitely;  and  some  of  those 
who  have  gone  thus  far  may  desire  to  go  yet   farther 
There  .s  much  territory  still  to  be  explored  in  this  matter 
of   the   personal    witness   of   great    souls— more   detailed 
.nquiry    for   mstance,   into   the    witness   of   the    mystics. 
John    Taulcr.    Brol.ier    Lawrence,    Thomas    a    Kempis 
Henry  Suso,  Miguel  de  >folinos,  Richard  Rolle  of  Ham- 
pole,  and  others  of  this  gentle  compan; ,    \Ve  might  also 
exam.ne  more  closely  the  place  of  Jesus  in  philosophy 
and  there  .s  a  rich  vein  to  be  worked  out  in  the  region 
of  the  social  and  political  consequencfs  ci  His  appear- 
ance.    StUl  another  approach   m^jht  be  n,.-K!c   fron    the 
side  of    specialist"  interpretations  of  Jesus— ,  ,r  e»     ,ole 
the  mystical  interpretation  ■?(  the  life  of  Jc.us  bv     VIis« 
welyn    Underbill,    the    economic    imerpretation    by    D, 
iiernard   Shaw,   the   psychological   interpretation    *        h 
Manley  Hall,   and  the  like.     Even  the  lure  met 
these  possibilities  goes  to  show  the  singula-  dis- 
of  Jesus. 

In  our  present  inquiry  we  have  seen  from  how  m  ny 
•lifferent  angles  men  have  looked  upon  Jesus,  and  unr  - 
now  many  .ispects  men  have  seen  Him.  To  Dante 
was  the  glorified  Redeemer;  to  Shelley,  the  supreme  po. 
and  reformer;  to  William  Blake,  the  incarnation  of  Thai 
clivino  energy  which  is  for  ever  creating  life  and  beaufv 
and  fellowship;  to  Browning,  the  clue  to  the  mystery 
ot  the  universe;  to  Tennyson,  the  divine  revealer  and 
183 


IXII-ij 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


.^J 


*' 


interpreter  of  (io<l  and  man;  to  I'rancis  Thompson,  tin- 
ever-present  Lover  who  will  not  let  us  go.  To  Savon 
arola,  lie  was  the  overlord  of  cities;  to  Mazzini,  tin 
symbol  and  promise  of  universal  human  unity;  to  John 
Kuskin,  the  living  Master  who  puts  us  all  to  work  and 
sustains  us  while  we  arc  at  it. 

And  so  comes  this  tremendous  question — How  ir 
it  happen  that  all  these  ditTcrent  characters  should  In 
ascribed  to  one  person?  How  could  one  man  till  so  many 
roles?  Of  course,  it  may  be  answered  that  each  of  thcM 
people  of  whom  we  have  inquired  ma-  have  simjly 
identified  his  own  personal  ideal  with  Jesus  and  found 
in  Jesus  what  it  suited  him  to  tiiul.  That  may  be  true, 
of  course,  and  yet  the  remarkable  fact  remains  that  all 
these  various  ideals  seemed  to  sit  easily  and  withoni 
strain  upon  Jesus.  We  know  that  other  persons  h.'  -■ 
been  idealized  and  deified  in  history ;  but  none  have  I  i 
treated  in  this  way  so  consistently  and  so  continuously 
as  Jesus.     He  seems  to  stand  alone. 

Yet  there  are  those  who  say  thut  Jesus  never  existed, 
that  He  is  a  fictitious,  mythical  figure.  There  may  have 
been  once  an  uncommonly  good  man  in  I'alestine  called 
Jesus,  but  he  is  a  very  shadowy  form.  The  person  wc 
find  in  the  gospels  is  a  composite  picture,  built  up  around 
this  obscure  individual  of  whom  we  can  know  next  tu 
nothing  for  certain — in  which  case  you  have  to  explain 
the  extraordinary  art  which  clothed  this  diaphanou> 
figure  with  so  nmch  life  that  he  has  imposed  himself 
in  this  royal  and  various  way  upon  the  generations  of 
men.  You  are  confronted  with  a  choice  of  two  miracles, 
the  miracle  of  Jesus  or  the  miracle  of  art.  In  either 
case,  you  have  a  miracle. 

Criticism  has  its  place  and  office  in  religion;  and  it 
is  stupid  ignorance  that  cries  out  against  it.  But  the 
danger  of  criticism  is  to  suppose  that  its  own  method 
covers  the  whole  field.  Now  the  fact  is  that,  because 
criticism  is  so  preoccupied  with  the  examination  of  texts 
184 


riiH  rxin-Ks  u.  Ji  srs 


anil  the  m-i  itiiiy  i)f  ditaiN 
tllf   wood    for  the    trit 


I'     i-'    SOmtllllil'-    !!■ 


^      '  M   iiiiirsc,  w: 


THUS 


IXIl. 


to  SCO 
a  VI  lift   the 


other  (lanp'r  of  u„\  scviriK  ilic  tree,  for  ihc  wood  and 
missing  tho  real  siBnificain.f  of  the  exact  and  scientific- 
study  of  the  gospels.  What  we  have  to  remember  is  that 
when  criticism  and  cxe'T'isis  have  done  their  work,  thev 
have  yet  to  be  si.b.nil  •.,)  to  the  test  of  the  whol  liutiian 
impression  of  Jesus,  'r'.e  study  of  the  total  impact  o! 
iIm  person  of  Jesus  upon  the  whole  man  is  as  necessary 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  just  proiwrtion  in  our 
thought  of  Jesus,  as  is  the  minute  and  rnicrosc  .pic  ex- 
amination of  records.  It  is  this  study  upon  which  we 
have  been  engaged. 


DAILY  KBADINOS 
Twelfth  Week,  First  Day 

-Jil""  '■""  '°  •'''"  *.he  mother  of  the  ions  of  Zebedec 
Jliil  "  u°"''  'y°"'»PPin|[  him.  and  asking  a  certain 
thL/p  h^"" ••»u*"'l  ^l  '»':J  ""»»  her.  Whft  wouldest 
thou?      ,he  saith  unto  him.  Command  that  these  my  two 

.!1j  VI.  "'>'  """Bdom.  But  Jesus  answered  and 
said,  Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask.     Are  ye  able  to  drink 

}y  11  ?•  u  'V  "•  "'•*''  ""'°  'hem.  My  cup  indeed  ye 
left  ha;!r''i.''"V°'"'  °"  ^y  ■".'«•"  hand,  and  on  my 
»hlJ^  u  ".,..1,"^'  """'  *°  «."•;  hut  it  is  for  them  for 
^-*T„  1  i^  ■?*!{?  P^P*""!  °f  my  Father.  And  when 
the  ten  heard  it.  they  were  moved  with  indignation  con- 

wXr'",L*'"-5"l.'","*'""v  ^"*  J""»  ""«<!  them  unto 
mm,  and  said,  Ye  know  that  the  rulers  of  the  Gentiles 
lord  It  over  them,  and  their  great  ones  exercise  authority 
over  them.     Not  so  shall  it  be  among  you:  but  who«o- 

■W^'?J'J''  u"°""  *"■"*  »"°nB,you  shall  be  your  min- 
ister,  and  whosoever  would  be  first  among  you  shall  be 
your  servant:  even  as  the  Son  ot  man  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  an.  to  give  his  life  a 
ransom  for  many. — Matt.  20:30-38. 

Jesus   seems  not   so  much   a   person  as  a   univerie  of 
185 


[XII-i] 


THAT  0A£  FACE 


personality.  That  is  the  moral  to  which  our  inquiry 
apparently  leads.  By  universe  is  meant  a  single  whole, 
which  includes  everything  within  itself  in  a  self-con- 
sistent unity;  and  the  fact  that  so  many  different  people 
discover  their  own  ideal  type  of  personality  in  Jesus 
justifies  our  speaking  of  Him  as  a  universe  of  personality. 
Yet  not  without  one  large  qualification. 

Not  every  one  who  has  looked  upon  Jesus  has  found 
Him  admirable;  and  in  our  time  there  has  been  one  loud 
and  direct  challenge  to  Jesus  and  the  whole  view  of  things 
that  Jesus  represents.  The  name  of  Nietzsche  has  been 
upon  everybody's  lips  now  for  some  years.  He  is  taken 
to  represent  the  theoretical  and  philosophical  side  of  the 
exaggerated  national  self-consciousness  of  Germany  in 
the  past  generation,  its  worship  of  power,  and  its  ruth- 
lessness  in  war.  This  is  not  altogether  fair  to  Nietzsche, 
who  would  have  been  the  last  person  to  justify  the  mere 
worship  of  massed  brute  force.  Nietzsche's  concern 
was  for  personality;  and  because  he  believed  that  the 
Christian  doctrine  of  self-renunciation  undermined  the 
foundations  of  personality,  he  preached  over  against  it 
the  doctrine  of  self-assertion. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Nietzsche  was  not  without  some 
reason  for  this  attitude.  Christianity  has  too  often  ap- 
peared as  a  sickly  sentimentality,  a  weak  an<?  yielding 
emotionalism.  Its  gi<xces  of  compassion  and  sympathy 
have  seemed  soft  and  backboneless  concessions  to  weak- 
ness. Against  this  kind  of  thing  Nietzsche  loudly  and 
rightly  protested.  But,  like  most  protesters,  he  protested 
too  much.  He  mistook  a  perversion  of  the  real  thing 
for  the  real  thing  itself,  and  assailed  Christianity  when 
he  was  really  assailing  a  degenerate  form  of  it.  He  did 
not  discriminate  clearly.  And  there  can  be  no  question 
that  this  vehement  challenge  was  needed,  in  order  to 
brace  up  our  conception  and  practice  of  the  Christian 
morality. 

At  the  same  time,  Nietzsche's  own  philosophical  prin- 
i86 


THE  UNIVERSAL  JESUS 


[XII-i] 


ciple  is  in  effect  a  direct  denial  of  the  Christian.  He 
believed  it  to  be  possible  to  produce  a  type  of  manhood 
as  much  superior  to  the  one  we  know  as  the  one  we 
know  is  superior  to  the  highest  types  of  animal  life. 
To  this  superior  type  he  gave  the  name  of  the  "super- 
man." But  the  superman  was  to  grow  by  the  process 
of  self-assertion,  by  exercising  "the  will  to  power";  and 
in  time  he  would  emerge  out  of  this  general  chaos  of 
self-assertiveness  the  unchallenged  master  and  lord.  So 
Nietzsche  exalts  individualism;  and  the  real  type  of  man- 
hood which  on  this  showing  proves  to  be  admirable  is 
Napoleon,  the  masterful,  self-assertive,  dominant,  im- 
perious man. 

Now,  whether  that  view  is  true  or  untrue,  it  is,  of 
course,  in  direct  contradiction  of  Jesus.  For,  instead  of 
self-assertion,  Jesus  required  self-denial;  instead  of  the 
"will  to  power,"  Jesus  preached  the  "will  to  love." 
Nietzsche  preached  the  doctrine  of  struggle  as  the  process 
of  producing  the  superman,  but  Jesus  preached  the  doc- 
trine of  cooperation.  And  not  only  did  He  preach,  but 
He  also  practiced.  We  know  Him  as  the  perfect  exemplar 
of  self-denial,  and  as  the  living  embodiment  of  the  "will 
to  love." 

So  we  may  say  that  the  contrast  between  Napoleon  and 
Jesus  sets  out  the  two  broad  antagonistic  views  of  life. 
When  Professor  Cramb  looked  upon  the  growing  mil- 
itarization of  Europe,  he  said  that  Corsica  had  conquered 
Galilee ;  he  forgot  to  add  that  Corsica  ended  in  St.  Helena, 
and  Galilee  in  an  empty  grave.  But  he  was  right  in 
putting  Corsica  in  antithesis  to  Galilee.  There  is  no 
room  for  the  Napoleonic  view  of  life  in  the  philosophy 
of  Jesus.  The  two  are  mutually  exclusive.  So  that  if 
we  speak  of  Jesus  as  a  universe  of  personality,  it  is  with 
the  qualification  that  the  Napoleonic  type  is  outside  of 
it.  Which  represents  the  true  type,  whether  Jesus  or 
Napoleon  is  the  real  superman,  it  should  not  be  difficult 
today  to  decide. 

'87 


1X11-2] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


Twelfth  Week.  Second  Day 

So  that  the  law  hath  been  our  tutor  to  bring  uf  unto 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith.  But  mw 
that  faith  is  come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  tutor.  For 
ye  are  all  sons  of  God,  through  faith,  in  Christ  Jesus. 
For  as  many  of  you  as  were  baptized  into  Christ  did  put 
on  Christ.  There  can  be  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there 
can  be  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  can  be  no  male  and 
female:  for  ye  all  are  one  man  in  Christ  Jesus.— Gal. 
3 :  34-a8. 

Tennyson  used  to  speak  of  the  "man-woman"  in  Jesus, 
the  singular  union  in  Him  of  strength  and  tenderness. 
The  diflference  of  sex  is  the  very  deepest  and  most  uni- 
versal of  human  distinctions.  Yet  it  would  be  diiBcult 
to  discover  a  single  act  of  Jesus  which  a  woman  might 
not  have  done.  The  cleansing  of  the  Temple  was  less 
an  achievement  of  physical  strength  than  of  moral  power ; 
and  there  have  been  women  in  history  capable  of  acts  of 
that  kind.  We  usually  ascribe  the  qualities  of  initiative 
and  aggressive  strength  to  men,  gentleness  and  the  power 
of  endurance  to  women;  and  in  a  general  way  the  dis- 
tinction is  valid.  It  would  puzzle  us  very  much  to  say 
which  was  the  more  prominent  in  Jesus.  Among  His 
friends  were  as  many  women  as  men,  and  it  is  notorious 
that  He  has  historically  spoken  with  more  power  to 
women  than  to  men.  Yet  no  one  would  dream  of  suggest- 
ing that  He  was  not  a  true  full-blooded  man,  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  ultimate  manliness. 

This  suggests  that  there  was  a  certain  elemental 
quality  in  the  humanity  of  Jesus,  something  in  it  which 
transcended  the  difference  of  sex  or  temperament,  nation 
or  station.  It  was  the  simple  primal  essence  of  manhood, 
unqualified  and  undifferentiated  by  any  of  those  accidents 
which  divide  the  man  from  the  woman,  the  jew  from 
the  Gentile,  the  king  from  the  peasant,  the  ancient  from 
the  modern.  Yet  He  was  a  peasant  of  Galilee.  Hailing 
from  an  obscure  village  in  an  obscure  land,  born  of  a 
i88 


THE  UNIVERSAL  JESUS 


(XII-3] 


people  trained  through  long  ages  into  unparalleled  ex- 
clusiveness  and  narrowness,  appearing  at  perhaps  the 
lowest  ebb  in  the  history  of  religion  and  thought,  yet 
there  was  a  universality  in  His  outlook  which  bade  His 
disciples  go  and  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  and  a  uni- 
versality of  appeal  in  His  manhood  which  has  made  and 
is  still  making  disciples  for  Him  among  all  the  peoples. 
Reared  in  an  atmosphere  which  made  for  the  most  un- 
compromising particularism,  yet  Jesus  is  the  most  uni- 
versal figure  in  history.  This  is  a  point  surely  worth 
pursuing  farther. 

Twelfth  Week,  Third  Day 

Wherefore  remember,  that  aforetime  ye,  the  Gentilei 
in  the  flesh,  who  are  called  Uncircumcision  by  that  which 
ii  called  Circumcision,  in  the  flesh,  made  by  hands; 
that  ye  were  at  that  time  separate  from  Christ,  alienated 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from 
the  covenants  of  the  promise,  having  no  hope  and  with- 
out God  in  the  world.  But  now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  that 
once  were  far  oS  are  made  nigh  in  the  blood  of  Christ. 
For  he  is  our  peace,  who  made  both  one,  and  brake  down 
the  middle  wall  of  partition,  having  abolished  in  his 
flesh  the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  con- 
tained in  ordinances;  that  he  might  create  in  himself  of 
the  twain  one  new  man,  so  making  peace;  and  might 
reconcile  them  both  in  one  body  unto  Cod  through  the 
cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby:  and  he  came 
and  preached  peace  to  you  that  were  far  off,  and  peace 
to  them  that  were  nigh:  for  through  him  we  both  have 
our  access  in  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father.  So  then  ye 
are  no  more  strangers  and  sojourners,  but  ye  are  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God, 
being  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Christ  Jesus  himself  being  the  chief  corner 
stone;  in  whom  each  several  building,  fitly  framed  to- 
gether, groweth  into  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord;  in 
whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a  habitation  of 
God  in  the  Spirit. — Eph.  a:  ii-aa. 

The  average  Frenchman  can  never  wholly  understand 
Oliver  Cromwell  any  more  than  the  average  Englishman 
189 


[XII-3] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


1 


,  ( 


can  understand  John  Knox.  We  should  hardly  ask  a 
German  to  say  the  last  word  about  Joan  of  Arc  or  an 
Italian  about  Martin  Luther.  Education  and  travel  and 
the  growth  of  international  feeling  have  done  much  to 
familiarize  the  nations  with  each  other's  heroes.  Never- 
theless, the  factor  of  race'  still  remains  an  essential  con- 
dition of  the  full  interpretation  of  the  great  historical 
figures. 

But  the  point  can  be  pushed  farther.  Not  every  Eng- 
lishman can  or  does  understand  Oliver  Cromwell.  It 
requires  an  Englishman  of  a  certain  type,  the  man  of 
Puritan  inheritance  and  spirit.  It  is  notorious  that  the 
name  of  Oliver  Cromwell  still  only  irritates  many  of  his 
countrymen.  Not  the  race  factor  only,  but  what  we  may 
call  the  temperament  factor,  counts  for  something  in  the 
understanding  of  a  given  person. 

There  is  another  step  we  have  to  take.  The  modern 
Puritan  may  be  able  to  trace  and  to  appreciate  the  his- 
torical significance  of  Cromwell's  brief  but  momentous 
intrusion  into  English  politics.  He  may  be  able  to 
analyze  Cromwell's  mind  and  character  so  far  as  to 
discover  the  mainsprings  of  his  actions.  But  he  can 
never  feel  that  warm  immediate  sympathy,  that  intense 
personal  spell  which  bound  Cromwell's  men  to  him  as 
with  ban.  ,  of  steel.  Times  have  changed,  and  with  them 
the  temper  of  society,  the  religious  outlook,  the  national 
character.  We  may  study,  admire,  respect  Cromwell,  but 
the  most  fierce  Puritan  cannot  nowadays  get  up  a 
genuine  personal  passion  for  him.  It  requ;-ed  a  fierce 
Puritan  of  his  own  time  to  do  that;  for  Cromwell  was, 
as  we  of  ours,  a  child  of  his  own  time.  Not  only,  then, 
are  the  race  factor  and  the  temperament  factor  important, 
but  we  need  also  the  time  factor  as  a  condition  of  a  full 
understanding  of  an  historical  person. 

>  By  "race"  here  is  not  meant  a  difference  of  physical  inheritance. 
Nowadays  we  know  that  racial  and  national  differences  are  born  chiefly 
of  cultural  and  social  heredity- 

190 


THE  UNIVERSAL  JESVS 


(XII-4] 


But  what  is  true  of  the  understanding  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well is  not  true  of  the  understanding  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
He  was  a  Jew,  in  everything,  yet  this  is  almost  the  last 
thing  we  think  of  concerning  Him.  He  appeals  to  every 
race  of  men  without  distinction;  and  our  missionary 
records  tell  us  how  the  Mongol  finds  as  easy  and  as  many 
points  of  contact  with  Him  as  a  Latin  or  a  Celt.  It  is 
probably  true  that  He  does  not  appear  quite  the  same  to 
the  Eastern  as  to  the  Western  eye;  but  that  is  due  not 
to  any  difference  in  Him,  but  to  the  difference  in  those 
who  look  at  Him.  In  His  own  day,  the  foreigner  found 
easy  access  to  Him.  A  Samaritan  woman  was  surprised 
to  find  herself  speaking  intimately  with  Him.  A  Roman 
officer  found  it  easy  to  approach  Him;  a  Syrophenician 
woman  could  not  be  driven  away  from  Him.  Yet  the 
very  gait  of  a  Jew  of  any  consequence  in  those  days 
bade  the  foreigner  keep  his  distance.  When  in  later 
days  His  story  went  abroad  among  the  nations,  first  the 
Greek,  then  the  Roman,  then  the  Teuton  and  the  Celt 
all  capitulated  to  Him.  He  appealed  to  them  all — in 
different  ways  and  at  different  points,  no  doubt — but 
so  effectively  that  they  all  responded.  Compare  this  with 
the  story  of  Muhammad.  Muhammad  has  never  touched 
the  outer  west  or  the  outer  east,  the  farther  north  or 
the  farther  south.  His  appeal,  powerful  as  in  many 
ways  it  has  been,  ha?  nevertheless  been  comparatively 
restricted  and  narrov/  3ut  east  and  west,  north  and 
south,  Jesus  has  touch,  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men. 
Even  the  Muhammadans  have  made  a  Muhammadan 
of  Him.  He  is  the  one  person  who  seems  to  be  at  home 
anywhere  in  the  world. 

Twelfth  Week,  Fourth  Day 

Now  when  Jesus  was  bom  in  Bethlehem  of  Judaea 
in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold,  wise  men  from 
the  east  came  to  Jerusalem,  saying,  Where  is  he  that 
is  bom  King  of  the  Jews?  for  we  saw  his  star  in  the 

191 


lXII-4] 


THAT  UKli  FACE 


h 


east,  and  are  co.ne  to  worship  him  .  .  .  and  lo,  the  star 
which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  before  them,  till  it 
came  and  stood  over  where  the  young  child  was.  And 
when  they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced  with  exceeding 
great  joy.  And  they  came  into  the  house  and  saw  the 
young  child  with  Mary  his  mother;  and  they  fell  down 
and  worshipped  tiim;  and  opening  their  treasures  they 
offered  unto  him  gifts,  gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh. 
— Matt.  3:1,  3,  9-1 1. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  angels  went  away  from 
them  into  heaven,  the  shepherds  said  one  to  another, 
Let  js  now  go  even  unto  Bethlehem,  and  see  this  thing 
that  is  come  to  pass,  which  the  Lord  hath  made  known 
unto  us.  And  they  came  with  haste,  and  found  both 
Mary  and  Joseph,  and  the  babe  lying  in  the  manger. 
And  when  they  saw  it,  they  made  known  concerning 
the  saying  which  was  spoken  to  them  about  this  child. 
And  all  that  heard  it  wondered  at  the  things  which 
were  spoken  unto  them  by  the  shophe:_s.  But  Mary 
kept  all  these  sayings,  pondering  them  in  her  heart. 
And  the  shepherds  returned,  glorifying  and  praising 
God  for  all  the  things  that  they  had  heard  and  seen, 
even  as  it  was  spoken  unto  them. — Luke  a:  15-20. 

We  have  seen  the  super-national  appeal  of  Jesus.  The 
same  quality  of  universality  is  to  be  observed  in  the 
matter  of  temperament.  Men  of  reflection  and  men  of 
action  have  sjught  and  found  their  highest  inspiration 
in  Him.  The  phi'osopher  and  the  moralist  have  been 
compelled  to  take  account  of  Him.  No  other  single  in- 
dividual has  so  stimulated  the  artistic  powers — whether 
in  music  or  in  painting;  the  poet  and  the  social  reformer 
have  sat  at  His  feet.  He  inspires  the  massive  thought 
of  an  Augustine  and  the  power  of  a  Luther,  the  en- 
durance of  a  Hus  and  the  heroism  of  a  Gordon.  The 
nobleman  and  the  peasant  both  have  bowed  to  Hi.n.  So 
in  His  own  day,  Joseph  of  .A.rimathea  and  Matthew  the 
publican — men  at  extreme  opposite  poles  of  social  status 
— followed  Him.  The  calm,  reflective  Nathanacl  and  the 
impetuous  Peter  found  themselves  at  His  feet.  All  men 
who  came  within  touching  distance  of  Him  found  points 
of  contact  with  Him. 

192 


THE  UNIVERSAL  JESUS 


[XII-S) 


Nor  has  the  appeal  of  Jesus  been  confined  to  a  par- 
ticular age.  The  whole  course  of  Christian  history  is 
studded  with  those  martyrdoms  which  show  how,  not 
only  among  all  races  but  in  all  ages,  men  have  been 
bound  to  Him  by  indissoluble  ties  of  loyalty  and  love. 
Krom  the  Christian  slaves  who  were  martyred  "to  make 
a  Roman  holiday"  to  the  Chinese  Christians  of  our  day 
who  died  rather  than  repudiate  Him,  there  has  been  no 
decline  in  His  personal  power  over  men.  He  belongs 
not  to  one  age  but  to  every  age.  The  change  which  time 
brings  may  alter  the  exact  incidence  of  His  appeal,  but 
it  abates  none  of  its  force.  Jesus  has  never  yet  been  out 
of  date. 

The  universality  of  His  person  is  reflected  in  His  out- 
look upon  life  and  in  His  teaching.  Look,  for  instance, 
at  His  illustrations.  The  prodigal  son  is  a  perennially 
universal  type.  The  stories  of  the  lost  coin,  the  good 
Samaritan,  the  Pharisee  and  the  publican,  are  for  ever 
true.  We  know  the  prodigal  and  the  Samaritan  the 
Pharisee  and  the  publican,  perfectly  well.  They  are  here 
with  us  today.  G.  K.  Chesterton  said  a  very  fine  and 
a  very  true  thing  not  long  ago.  Speaking  of  the  princi- 
ple that  self-sacr=  :e  is  the  way  of  self-realization,  he 
added,  "Jesus  sa'  *hat  long  ago,  as  He  said  almost 
everything." 

Twelfth  Week,  Fifth  Day 

Therefore  seeing  we  have  this  ministry,  even  as  we 
obtained  mercy,  we  faint  not:  but  we  have  renounced 
the  hidden  things  of  shame,  not  walking  in  craftiness, 
nor  handling  the  word  of  God  deceitfully;  but  by  the 
manifestation  of  the  truth  commending  ourselves  to 
every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.  But  and 
if  our  gospel  is  veiled,  it  is  veiled  in  them  that  are 
perishing:  in  whom  the  ^od  of  this  world  hath  blinded 
the  minds  of  the  unbelievmg,  that  the  tight  of  the  gospel 
of  the  glory  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should 
not  dawn  upon  them.  For  we  preach  not  ourselves,  but 
Christ  Jesus  as  Lord,  and  ourselves  as  your  servants 

193 


[XII-51 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


if! 


for  Jetui'  Mke.  Seeing  it  ii  Qod,  that  Mid,  Light  ihaU 
ihine  out  of  darkneti,  who  ahined  in  our  hearti,  to  give 
the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  Ood  ir  the 
face  of  Jeau*  Chriat. — II  Cor.  4:  i-e. 

In  one  of  his  letters  Dostoievsky  speaks  of  "the  inmost 
essence  and  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  Russian  nation 
— namely,  that  Russia  must  reveal  to  the  world  her  own 
Russian  Christ,  whom  as  yet  the  people  know  not." 
And  he  adds:  "There  ties,  I  believe,  the  inmost  essence 
of  our  vast  impending  contribution  to  civilization,  where- 
by we  shall  awaken  the  European  people;  there  lies  the 
inmost  core  of  our  exuberant  and  intense  existence  that 
is  to  be."  It  may  be  that,  when  the  present  confusion 
and  unrest  have  b^en  allayed  and  Russia  is  once  more 
at  peace  with  herse  (  and  with  mankind,  she  will  achieve 
her  own  vision  of  Christ  and  reveal  it  to  the  world. 

But  it  is  not  Russ-a  alone  which  has  a  Christ  to  reveal. 
We  have  seen  how  Jesus  has  appealed  to  the  nations  of 
men;  and  Russia  and  all  the  other  nations  will  each  see 
Him  in  their  own  way.  And  it  is  when  He  is  seen  of 
all  the  nations,  and  every  nation  in  the  light  of  its 
own  peculiar  history  and  discipline  and  genius  shows  its 
own  Christ  to  the  world,  that  we  shall  have  the  finished 
picture  of  "the  Christ  that  is  to  be." 

That  is,  of  course,  if  the  picture  can  ever  be  finished. 
St.  Paul  speaks  of  "the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ"; 
and  if  it  be  true  that  in  Him  "are  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge  hidden,"  then  it  may  well  be  that 
the  picture  of  Christ  will  never  be  quite  complete  until 
we  see  Him  as  He  is.  Some  new  phase  of  His  signifi- 
cance, some  unsuspected  element  in  His  personality,  will 
be  continually  revealed  to  us;  and,  indeed,  as  "knowledge 
grows  from  more  to  more,"  it  would  be  strange  if  we  did 
not  identify  in  Him  some  new  treasure  of  "the  manifold 
wisdom  ot  God." 

But  shall  we  ever  outgrow  Jesus?  Will  there  ever  be 
a  time  when  the  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus  will  be  itself 

194 


THE  UNIVERSAL  JESUS 


(XII-6] 


transcen.'  u,  as  it  transcended  Judaism?  He  would  in- 
deed be  a  ras'n  person  who  presumed  that  he  knew  the 
whole  counsel  ot  God  so  well  as  to  say  that  God  has 
no  resources  of  revelation  beyond  those  He  has  given  u> 
in  Jesus.  At  the  same  time,  a  question  of  this  kind  is  nov 
particularly  useful.  When  mankind  has  reached  the 
moral  plane  of  Jesus,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  look  out 
for  fresh  revelations.  The  exhaustion  of  the  significance 
of  Jesus  is  yet  a  very  remote  possibility;  and  it  is  our 
business  to  explore  the  continent  which  lies  at  our  feet, 
rather  than  speculate  about  the  probabilities  on  the  other 
side  of  it.  In  the  present  state  of  human  development, 
Jes'<s  is  still  a  universe  in  which  there  is  much  un- 
known territory  to  be  explored  and  much  land  to  be 
possessed.  And  when  Russia  has  revealed  to  the  world 
her  Russian  Christ,  and  India  her  own  Indian  Christ, 
and  China  her  own  Chinese  Christ,  and  when  the  islands 
of  the  sea  tell  their  tale  of  what  they  have  found  Christ 
to  be,  we  shall  know  better  what  was  and  is  "tne  light 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  .  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ."  And  even  then,  we  shall  not  h::ve  got  the 
tale  complete. 

Twelfth  Week.  Sixth  Day 

A*  therefore  ye  received  Christ  Jeiui  the  Lord,  to 
walk  in  him,  rooted  and  builded  up  in  him,  and  atablished 
in  your  faith,  even  at  ye  were  taught,  abotuding  in 
thanksgiving. 

Take  heed  leit  there  shall  be  any  one  that  maketh 
spoil  of  you  through  his  philosophy  and  vain  deceit, 
after  the  tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the 
world,  and  not  after  Christ:  for  in  him  dwelleth  ail 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and  in  him  ye  are 
made  full. — Col.  a :  6-10. 


It  may  be  said  that  there  are   four  main   strands  in 
the  total  impression  which  Jesus  has  made  upon  men: 
First,  as  the  Good  Shepherd,  the  embodiment  of  love 
19s 


[XIU] 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


•.l, 


and  faithfulness  and  care — the  symbol  of  a  friendly  provi- 
dence. 

Second,  as  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  whom  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  bruise  and  upon  whom  were  laid  the  transgres- 
sions of  His  people,  the  Lamb  cf  God  who  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world — the  symbol  of  redemption. 

Third,  as  the  Light  of  the  \\''>rld,  the  clue  to  the  mys- 
tery of  the  univers;,  the  kev  to  the  problems  of  life — 
the  symbol  of  illumination. 

Fourth,  as  tho  Carpenter  of  Nazareth,  who  shared  the 
common  lot  and  toil  of  men,  who  was  made  in  all  things 
like  unto  His  brethren — the  symbol  of  common  humanity. 

Between  these  aspects  under  which  men  have  seen 
Jesus  there  is  no  contradiction,  for  each  of  them  cor- 
responds to  a  definite  human  need.  There  are  times 
when,  in  its  loneliness  and  bewilderment,  the  soul  cries 
out  for  the  Good  Shepherd  who  will  go  out  to  it  into 
the  wilderness  and  carry  it  home  on  His  shoulders  rejoic- 
inff.  There  are  other  times  when  the  soul,  distracted 
and  desperate  by  reason  of  its  moral  defeats  and  fail- 
ures, calls  out  for  a  Redeemer  who  will  deliver  it  from 
its  body  of  death.  There  are  also  times  when  the  mind 
is  perplexed  and  overwhelmed  by  the  mystery  of  things, 
by  the  contradictions  of  life,  by  the  vexing  challenge  of 
thought  and  knowledge;  and  then  it  asks  for  light.  And 
in  the  long  historic  struggle  for  the  great  human  sancti- 
ties and  liberties,  men  have  turned  for  endorsement, 
courage,  and  inspiration  to  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth. 

And  all  these  various  aspects  must  be  gathered  up  into 
a  complete  picture  of  Jesus.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  "the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God";  and  this  word  manifold  may 
be  translated  "many-colored."  He  is  speaking  of  God's 
self-revelation  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  when  the  white  light 
of  this  revelation  is  refracted  by  the  prism  of  human 
need  it  breaks  up  into  these  various  ministries  of  de- 
liverance and  enlightenment,  providence  and  inspiration. 
It  is  only  as  we  rightly  appraise  all  these  ministries  and 
J96 


THE  UNIVERSAL  JESUS 


(XII  71 


try  to  unify  lliem  in  a  single  picture,  that  wc  shall  be- 
hold that  glory  which  was  "as  of  the  only  begotten 
from  the  Father." 

Twelfth  WfiV,  Seventh  Dty 

My  ioul  doth  m-jnify  the  Lord, 

And  my  ipirit  hith  .  sjoiced  In  Ood  my  Savioiir. 

For  he  hath  looked  upon  the  low  eatate  of  hia  h«ad- 

nui'den:  ....  ^.  ..  h       „ 

For  behold,  from  henceforth  all  generationa  ahall  call 

me  bleaaed.  .  , 

For  he  that  ia  mighty  hath  done  to  me  great  thinga; 
And  holy  ia  hia  name. 

And  hia  mercy  ia  unto  generationa  and  generationa 
On  them  that  fear  him. 
He  hath  ahewed  atrength  with  hia  arm; 
He  hath  acattered  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their 

heart.  ,  ^  ,      , 

He  hath  put  down  prmcea  from  their  ti:ronea. 
And  hath  exnlted  them  of  low  degrte. 
The  hungry  he  hath  filled  with  good  thinga; 
And  the  rich  he  hath  aent  empty  away. 
He  hath  holpen  larael  hia  aervant. 
That  he  might  remember  mercy 
(Aa  he  apake  unto  our  fathera)  ,    .  - 

Toward  Abraham  and  hia  aeed  for  ever.— Luke  i :  4«-55- 

It  is  not  only  the  need  of  the  single  soul  that  changes 
with  the  passing  of  time,  but  the  need  of  the  collective 
soul— the  need  of  the  age ;  and  every  age  will  tend  to 
give  prominence  to  that  aspect  of  Christ  that  fits  its 
own  peculiar  need.  We  have  seen  how  the  painters  of 
the  Renascence  emphasized  the  redeeming  grace  of  Jesus, 
and  this  was  the  ruling  element  in  the  spiritual  experi- 
ence of  the  Reformation  period.  This  was,  no  doubt, 
due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  soul,  having  emancipated 
itself  from  its  subjection  to  an  all-embracing  spiritual 
authority,  became  aware  in  a  new,  vivid  way  of  its  own 
direct  moral  responsibility  and  of  its  incapacity  to  dis- 
charge this  responsibility  in  its  own  strength.  Being 
thus  acutely  conscious  of  the  meaning  of  its  moral  defeats 
197 


lXlI-71 


THAT  ONE  FACE 


h 


and  falls,  It  l)egan  tr>  crave  a  redeemer,  and  this  redeemer 
it  found  ill  Jesus.  Every  age  will  see  Jesus  in  terms  of 
its  own  peculiar  need. 

And  so  must  ours.  What  is  the  need  of  our  age? 
Truly  our  age  gathers  up  into  its  own  need  the  whole 
manifold  need  of  all  the  ages;  and  it  will  need  a  whole 
Christ  to  see  it  through  its  troubles.  But,  specially,  the 
task  of  our  age  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  democratic  ideal. 

The  democratic  principle  rests  upon  the  doctrine  of 
the  infinite  and  therefore  the  equal  worth  of  every  living 
soul,  and,  though  we  may  not  say  that  this  doctrine 
originated  with  Christianity,  it  is  true  that  it  has  derived 
its  most  powerful  impulse  from  Christianity;  and  it  is 
not  alone  a  political  ta;k  but  a  definitely  Christian  task 
to  carry  out  "  :  logic  of  this  principle — which  is  to 
establish  within  the  commonwealth  those  conditions  of 
equal  opportunity  which  are  within  human  control. 

We  have  passed  from  that  state  of  the  world  when  the 
divine  rif'  )f  kings  kept  common  men  out  of  their 
inheritance  o  life  and  liberty,  and  we  are  going  to  build 
a  new  woria  oon  the  principle  that  every  man  is  a  king 
by  divine  righ.  But  we  learned  that  principle  from  the 
vision  of  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth. 

We  sometimes  describe  the  Incarnation  as  God  coming 
down  to  our  human  level.  That,  however,  is  only  half  the 
tiuth.  The  other  half  is  that  God  raised  our  humanity 
up  to  His  own  plane.  One  of  the  old  Fathers  speaks  of 
our  flesh  being  gathered  up  into  ttie  Godhead.  And  we 
shall  create  a  democratic  world  only  as  we  learn  to  con- 
ceive and  to  interpret  humanity  in  this  way — as  we  realize 
that,  when  God  took  upon  Him  the  flesh  of  a  common 
man.  He  touched  the  common  man  with  divinity  for 
evermore. 

Somewhere  within  this  cycle  there  is  a  vision  of  Jesus 
awaiting  this  generation;  and,  when  wc  see  it,  v/e  shall 
understand  how  inevitable  it  was  that  the  Son  of  God 
should  be  also  the  Son  of  Man. 
198 


THE  USIVERSAL  JESUS 


(XIU) 


StIOOBSTIONS  FOR  THOUGHT  AND  DISCUSSION 

Doci  the  fact  that  the  appeal  of  Jesut  ii  so  univerial 
luneit  that  human  nature  is  always  and  eveiy where  the 
same? 

What  light  does  this  week's  reading  throw  upon  the 
missionary  and  social  obligation  of  the  Church? 

It  has  been  said  that  "democracy  is  Christianity  in 
public  affairs."  Is  this  true?  Is  democracy  as  we  know 
it  truly  Christian?  If  not,  what  does  it  need  in  order 
to  make  it  so? 


X99 


